SpiderSpies: US Chief Spy Compares Intelligence Community to Spider-Man

Delivering a speech at AFCEA/INSA, National Security and Intelligence Summit in Washington, DC this Wednesday, James Clapper, the head of the seventeen-member US Intelligence Community (IC) — responsible for the whole US intelligence — took his time to present a point-by-point comparison of his fellow spies to the famous comics’ cartoon Spider-Man. The phrase which inspired the veteran spy is the one from the comics: “With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility."

Director Clapper, as a leader in the intelligence field, made a thorough comparison of his own branch with comics characters. But is his business as transparent and benefiting the whole American nation and the world, as Clapper claims?

In Snowden’s acceptance speech to the Ridenhour Prize for truth-telling in 2014 the famous whistleblower slammed Clapper for lying to Congress on March 12, 2013, when asked whether the NSA was collecting information on tens of millions of US citizens.

“The oath that I remember is James Clapper raising his hand swearing to tell the truth and then lying to the American public,” Snowden said.

As the National Intelligence Director, Clapper oversees the operation of 17 US government agencies, which comprise the United States Intelligence Community.

“This was not an untruth or a falsehood. This was just a mistake on his part. We all make mistakes,” Robert Litt, the general counsel for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, was quoted as saying by The Hill at a discussion hosted by the Advisory Committee on Transparency May 8th.

During a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in 2013 Clapper said the collection of bulk data could only have happened “inadvertently,” according to the news outlet.

Several months later, the documents leaked by former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden revealed Clapper was not saying the truth.