Case
Study: Edward Snowden
The
following is a case study of Edward Snowden; who is currently living in exile
in Russia. Espionage is the practice of spying or using spies (usually used by
governments) to obtain political and military information. Espionage is a serious offense in many
countries, and even though many countries deny any involvement in acts of
espionage, we all know it to be an effective for of recon and an ideal way of
gather Intel and resources. Edward Snowden has been charged under the Espionage
act of 1917 and faces up to 30 years in prison.
Snowden
Edward
Snowden is a former National Security Agency (NSA) computer programmer. Snowden
dropped out of high school but later decided to study computers in Anne Arundel
Community College from 1999 to 2001 and again in 2004. Before going back to
school in 2004, Snowden received training in special forces, training in the
Army Reserves. Snowden suffered 2 broken legs in a training accident, resulting
in his discharge and allowing him to attend school. After finishing school, he
got himself a job as a security guard at the University of Maryland. The
university had connections to the NSA which lead to Snowden landing an
information tech. For the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
In
2009, Snowden left his job at the CIA after he was suspended attempting to
break into classified documents. After leaving his job at the CIA, Snowden
began working for private contractors and among those private contractors were
Dell Hamilton and Booz Allen. He as a subcontractor in an NSA office in Japan while
working for at Dell before being transferred to Hawaii. While working as an IT
guy for Booz Allen, Snowden began to notice the surveillance reach of the NSA,
and began copying and saving classified NSA documents, building a dossier based
on the things he found “disturbing” and unacceptable.
In
2013 after compiling a large enough dossier full of NSA surveillance practices,
Snowden took a leave of absence from his job, telling his NSA supervisor that
he had been diagnosed with epilepsy and had to go away for treatment. He flew
to Hong Kong where he would meet with Laura Portras who is a reporter for “The
Guardian”. Snowden gave the documents to Portas and she leaked them to the
press. While in Hong Kong, Snowden agreed to star in Portas's now Oscar-winning
documentary called “Citzenfour”. The documentary was based on Snowden's with
the NSA and how he felt about what he was doing. Snowden claimed that he would
give up his old life because he could not “in good consciousness allow the
government to destroy privacy”. After
the release of the top secret NSA documents, Snowden became the most wanted man
in America. Snowden originally wanted to go to Ecuador and hide there, but he
was held in Russia when his Passport was flagged; although the Russian
government originally denied the extradition of Snowden, there has been talks
that Vladimir Putin (the President of the Russian Federation) was in talks with
the Trump administration to turn over Snowden as a sign of good faith.
Diagnosis
Edward
Snowden acted on his own from the government platform that the National
Security Agency put him on. He acted on his own consciousness and did what he
thought was right.
Snowden was note working with any
other international government agencies and should not be tried as if he were.
Snowden was doing what he believed was right for the country which is why more
than 100,000 people signed a petition asking the United States President Barak
Obama to pardon Snowden.
Snowden
has a right to expression and he did it in a way that attention can be brought
to a problem so something can be done. One of the NSA documents that were
leaked showed how the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court enforced an order
to Verizon to release information to the NSA on an ongoing and everyday basis
with the American phone customers being the main focal point. That is a grade
one level of intrusion of the American people’s privacy.
Plan
This
section shows my opinion on what should be done to prevent any further
controversy about this problem.
One
way to end this controversial issue would be to pardon Snowden for his actions
and allow him to move back into the states as a freeman. The things he did were
not acts of espionage, but those of a concerned citizen who was worried of his
rights and the rights of others as well. By pardoning Snowden's actions, the
United States looks good in terms of allowing second chances and can indeed
look like a free country. By pardoning Snowden, the United States can take the
attention of something negative, that makes the United States look bad and
reminds the people of what the government has been up to with the tax payer’s
money, but it also allows for the government to focus on more important matters
and allows the government to not be distracted.
Another
action the government can take to put this behind them is to allow him to
remain in Russia and ban him from entering the United States. By banning him
and allowing him to live in Russia, everyone can move on and make Edward
Snowden a thing of the past, instead of making him a constant reminder of the
corruption of the government.
Results/Outcome
The
pardoning of Edward Snowden would allow the government can get back to what
matters which is keeping our country safe. It might also allow the people to
trust the government again, by pardoning someone that so many people view as a
hero to the country.
The
President of the United States should pardon or allow him to live in exile in a
public platform so the people can see and so Snowden knows where he stands with
the government and the country.
Conclusion
Espionage
is a serious offense in many countries, and even though many countries deny any
involvement in acts of espionage, we all know it to be an effective for of
recon and an ideal way of gather Intel and resources. If there is anyone in
this scenario guilty of espionage, it is the American government for attempting
such intrusion in our lives and denying any doing so for many years. In a
country where we had rights in place to defend ourselves against the over
powering of the government, we should feel betrayed and angry with the
government for attempting doing something like this. Snowden in the eyes of
many was a hero for opening the eyes of many civilians around the world.
References
Harding,
L. (2014). How Edward Snowden went from loyal NSA contractor to whistleblower.
Retrieved December 07, 2016, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/01/edward-snowden-intelligence-leak-nsa-contractor-extract
Writing
forCollege. (n.d.). Retrieved December 07, 2016, from
http://www.tc.umn.edu/~jewel001/CollegeWriting/WRITEWORK/DISCIPLINES/CaseStudySamples.htm
Blog where this was posted and published
https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/obama-should-pardon-edward-snowden-today-were-launching-campaign-make-it-happen?page=7#comment-191610
