Sam Adams Award
{{Short description|American annual award for intelligence professionals}}
{{distinguish|text=the Sammies, an award given by the Sam Adams Alliance}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
The Sam Adams Award is given annually since 2002 to an intelligence professional who has taken a stand for integrity and ethics. The award is granted by the Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence, a group of retired CIA officers. It is named after Samuel A. Adams, a CIA whistleblower during the Vietnam War, and takes the physical form of a "corner-brightener candlestick".{{sfn|McGovern archived}}{{Unreliable source?|date=December 2020}}
Ray McGovern established the Sam Adams Associates "to reward intelligence officials who demonstrated a commitment to truth and integrity, no matter the consequences."{{sfn|Carlo|2014}}
The 2012, 2013,{{sfn|McGovern|2013}} and 2014 awards were presented at the Oxford Union.{{sfn|Carlo|2014}}
File:Edward Snowden receives Sam Adams award in Moscow.webm receiving the Sam Adams Award in October 2013.]]
Recipients
- 2002: FBI agent and whistleblower Coleen Rowley{{sfn|McGovern|2013b}}
- 2003: Katharine Gun, former British intelligence (GCHQ) translator; leaked top-secret information showing illegal US activities during the push for war in Iraq.{{sfn|McGovern|2013c}}
- 2004: Sibel Edmonds, former FBI translator; fired after accusing FBI officials of ignoring intelligence pointing to al-Qaeda attacks against the US.{{Cite web|date=May 14, 2018|title=Sibel Edmonds: National Security Whistleblower|url=https://www.whistleblowers.org/whistleblowers/sibel-edmonds/|access-date=September 21, 2024|website=National Whistleblower Center}}
- 2005: Craig Murray,{{sfn|Rowley|2009}} former British ambassador to Uzbekistan who blew the whistle on UK complicity in the Uzbek government's use of torture and involvement in extraordinary rendition.
- 2006: Samuel Provance, former U.S. Army military intelligence sergeant; spoke out about abuses at the Abu Ghraib Prison.{{sfn|Horton|2007}}
- 2007: Andrew Wilkie, retired Australian intelligence official; claimed intelligence was being exaggerated to justify Australian support for the US invasion of Iraq.{{cn|date=April 2022}}
- 2008: Frank Grevil, Danish whistleblower; leaked classified information showing no clear evidence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.{{sfn|DR|2009}}
- 2009: Larry Wilkerson, former chief of staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell and Iraq War critic.{{sfn|Rowley|2009}}
- 2010: Julian Assange, editor-in-chief and founder of WikiLeaks.{{sfn|Oxford Union|2013}}{{sfn|McGovern|2010}}
- 2011: Thomas Andrews Drake, former senior executive of the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA); Jesselyn Radack, former ethics adviser to the U.S. Department of Justice.{{sfn|McGovern|2011}}
- 2012: Thomas Fingar, former chairman of the National Intelligence Council.{{sfn|McGovern archived}}
- 2013: Edward Snowden, leaked NSA material showing mass surveillance by the agency, sparking heated debate.{{sfn|GAP: Snowden Award|2013}}{{sfn|Haaretz|2013}}
- 2014: Chelsea Manning,{{sfn|Nicks|2014}} U.S. Army soldier convicted in July 2013 of violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses.
- 2015: William Binney, former highly placed intelligence official with the NSA turned whistleblower.{{cite web|author1=Hannah Borno|title=NSA whistleblower William Binney wins 2015 Sam Adams award|url=http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/nsa-whistleblower-william-binney-wins-2015-sam-adams-award-1484867|website=International Business Times|access-date=August 31, 2015|date=January 23, 2015}}
- 2016: John Kiriakou, former CIA analyst and case officer who publicly confirmed the employment of waterboarding against detainees and characterized the practice as torture.{{Citation | title =John Kiriakou | publisher =The Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence | year =2016 | url =http://samadamsaward.ch/john-kiriakou/ | access-date = April 26, 2025}}
- 2017: Seymour Hersh, Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist who reported on the My Lai massacre, the Abu Ghraib scandal, and alleged misrepresentations of the 2013 Ghouta attack and the 2017 Khan Shaykhun attack.{{sfn|McGovern|2017}}
- 2018: Karen Kwiatkowski, U.S. Air Force officer who became a whistleblower, leaking material behind the film Shock and Awe.{{sfn|SAAII|2018}}
- 2019: Jeffrey Sterling, CIA whistleblower.{{sfn|McGovern|2020}}
- 2020: Annie Machon, MI5 whistleblower.{{Cite web|date=March 16, 2021|title=MI-5 Whistleblower Annie Machon Wins 2021 Sam Adams Award; Prof. Stephen Cohen to be Honored|url=https://consortiumnews.com/2021/03/16/annie-machon-wins-2021-sam-adams-award-prof-stephen-cohen-to-be-honored/|access-date=March 16, 2021|website=Consortiumnews|language=en-US}}
- 2021: Daniel Hale, U.S. Air Force enlisted airman who became an intelligence analyst for the NSA in Afghanistan and later exposed the consequences of drone strikes.{{cite news |title=Drone Warfare Whistleblower Daniel Hale Honored with Sam Adams Award for Integrity in Intelligence |url=http://samadamsaward.ch/2021/08/%ef%bb%bfdrone-warfare-whistleblower-daniel-hale-honored-with-sam-adams-award-for-integrity-in-intelligence/ |access-date=August 23, 2021 |publisher=Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence |date=August 23, 2021}}
- 2022: Daniel Ellsberg, former U.S. military analyst who released the Pentagon Papers, showing that the public had been misled about the Vietnam War, to a number of newspapers in 1971.{{cite web |url=https://samadamsaward.ch/daniel-ellsberg/ |title=Daniel Ellsberg |publisher=Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence |date=April 11, 2023 |access-date=May 1, 2023}}
- 2024: Aaron Bushnell, senior airman in the United States Air Force who engaged in a fatal act of self-immolation in protest against United States support for Israel in the Gaza war on February 25, 2024 (posthumously awarded).{{Cite web|date=September 19, 2024|title=US Soldier Who Burned Himself to Death Over Gaza Wins Sam Adams Associates Award for Integrity in Intelligence|url=https://consortiumnews.com/2024/09/19/us-soldier-who-burned-himself-to-death-over-gaza-wins-sam-adams-award/|access-date=September 21, 2024|website=Consortiumnews}}
References
{{reflist|20em}}
Sources
{{refbegin|30em}}
- {{cite news| title = Chelsea Manning and Edward Snowden Criticize the "Decline" of US Democracy| last = Carlo | first = Silkie| work = Motherboard| url = https://www.vice.com/en/article/chelsea-manning-and-edward-snowden-criticised-the-decline-of-us-democracy/| date = February 20, 2014 | access-date = February 21, 2014}}
- {{Cite news| title = Former National Security Whistleblowers Meet in Moscow and Award Sam Adams Prize to Snowden| publisher = Government Accountability Project| url = http://www.whistleblower.org/blog/44-2013/3012-former-national-security-whistleblowers-meet-in-moscow-and-award-sam-adams-prize-to-snowden-| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131114230812/http://www.whistleblower.org/blog/44-2013/3012-former-national-security-whistleblowers-meet-in-moscow-and-award-sam-adams-prize-to-snowden-| date = October 10, 2013 | archive-date = November 14, 2013| ref = {{harvid|GAP: Snowden Award|2013}}}}] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131114230812/http://www.whistleblower.org/blog/44-2013/3012-former-national-security-whistleblowers-meet-in-moscow-and-award-sam-adams-prize-to-snowden- |date=November 14, 2013}}-->
- {{Cite news| title = Former U.S. officials give NSA whistleblower Snowden award in Russia| newspaper = Haaretz| agency = Associated Press| url = http://www.haaretz.com/news/world/1.551784| date = October 10, 2013| ref = {{harvid|Haaretz|2013}}}}
- {{cite news| title = Frank Grevil får whistleblower-pris| language = da| publisher = DR| url = http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Indland/2009/01/26/125133.htm| date = January 26, 2009 | access-date = February 5, 2009| ref = {{harvid|DR|2009}}}}
- {{Cite news| title = Sam Adams Award to Sam Provance| last = Horton | first = Scott| magazine = Harper's Magazine| url = http://harpers.org/blog/2007/09/sam-adams-award-to-sam-provance/| date = September 21, 2007}}
- {{Cite news| title = Karen Kwiatkowski Receives 17th Sam Adams Award 2018| publisher = The Sam Adams Associates for Integrity in Intelligence| url = http://samadamsaward.ch/2018/12/karen-kwiatkowski-receives-17th-sam-adams-award-2018| date = December 8, 2018| ref = {{harvid|SAAII|2018}}}}
- {{Cite web| title = Sam Adams Award| last = McGovern | first = Ray| author-link = Ray McGovern| url = http://raymcgovern.com/sam-adams-award.html | url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140116210330/http://raymcgovern.com/sam-adams-award.html| archive-date = January 16, 2014| ref = {{harvid|McGovern archived}}}}
- {{cite news| title = Snowden Congratulates Chelsea Manning| last = Nicks | first = Denver| magazine = Time| url = https://swampland.time.com/2014/02/19/edward-snowden-congratulates-chelsea-manning/| date = February 19, 2014 | access-date = February 20, 2014}}
- {{Cite news| title = Colonel Larry Wilkerson to Receive 2009 Sam Adams Truthtelling Award| last = Rowley | first = Coleen| author-link = Coleen Rowley| magazine = HuffPost| url = http://www.huffingtonpost.com/coleen-rowley/colonel-larry-wilkerson-t_b_325434.html| date = October 19, 2009}}
- {{Cite news| title = Sam Adams Awards including videolink with Julian Assange| publisher = Oxford Union| url = https://www.oxford-union.org/term_events/julian_assange2 | url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140421171948/https://www.oxford-union.org/term_events/julian_assange2| date = January 23, 2013 | archive-date = April 21, 2014| ref = {{harvid|Oxford Union|2013}}}}] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140421171948/https://www.oxford-union.org/term_events/julian_assange2 |date=April 21, 2014}}-->
{{refend}}
External links
- {{Official website|samadamsaward.ch}}
{{Laureates of the Sam Adams Award}}
Category:2002 establishments in the United States
Category:Articles containing video clips
Category:Awards established in 2002
Category:Espionage scandals and incidents
Category:Intelligence and espionage-related awards and decorations