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