For this exercise you will write two paragraphs stating your opinion regarding t

Question

For this exercise you will write two paragraphs stating your opinion regarding the appropriateness of Edward Snowden’s decision to expose the US government’s top secret surveillance program . Write at least two paragraphs stating whether you think Edward Snowden is a traitor, a hero or something in-between. State at least 5 specific actions that Edward Snowden took that you base your opinion.

Reference:

Edward Snowden Biography

Computer Programmer (1983–)

“I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things ... I do not want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under.”

—Edward Snowden

Synopsis

Born in North Carolina in 1983, Edward Snowden later worked for the National Security Agency through subcontractor Booz Allen in the organization's Oahu office. During his time there, Snowden collected top-secret documents regarding NSA domestic surveillance practices that he found disturbing. After Snowden fled to Hong Kong, China and met with Guardianjournalists, newspapers began printing the documents that he had leaked, many of them detailing the monitoring of American citizens. The U.S. has charged Snowden with violations of the Espionage Act while many groups call him a hero. Snowden has found asylum in Russia and continues to speak about his work. A documentary on his story, Citzenfour, won an Oscar in 2015, with a 2016 biopic also in the pipeline.

Background and Early Years

Edward Snowden was born in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, on June 21, 1983. His mother works for the federal court in Baltimore (the family moved to Maryland during Snowden's youth) as chief deputy clerk for administration and information technology. Snowden's father, a former Coast Guard officer, later relocated to Pennsylvania and remarried.

Snowden dropped out of high school and studied computers at Anne Arundel Community College in Arnold, Maryland (from 1999 to 2001, and again from 2004 to 2005). Between his stints at community college, Snowden spent four months (May to September 2004) in the Army Reserves in special-forces training. He did not complete training according to Army sources, and he was discharged after he broke his legs in an accident.

Government Work

Snowden eventually landed a job as a security guard at the University of Maryland's Center for Advanced Study of Language. The institution had ties to the National Security Agency, and, by 2006, Snowden had parlayed his way into an information-technology job at the Central Intelligence Agency. In 2009, after being suspected of trying to break into classified files, he left to work for private contractors, among them Dell and Booz Allen Hamilton, a tech consulting firm. With Dell, he was shipped off to Japan to work as a subcontractor in an NSA office before being transferred to an office in Hawaii. After a short while he moved from Dell to Booz Allen, another NSA subcontractor, and remained with the company for only three months.

Blowing the Whistle

During his years of IT work, Snowden had noticed how far reaching the NSA's reach was in terms of everyday surveillance. While with Booz Allen, Snowden began copying top-secret NSA documents, building a dossier on practices that he found invasive and disturbing. The documents contained vast information on the NSA's domestic surveillance practices.

After he had compiled a large store of documents, Snowden told his NSA supervisor that he needed a leave of absence for medical reasons, stating he had been diagnosed with epilepsy. On May 20, 2013, Snowden took a flight to Hong Kong, China, where he remained as he orchestrated a clandestine meeting with journalists from the U.K. publication The Guardianas well as filmmaker Laura Poitras. Then on June 5, The Guardian released secret documents obtained from Snowden. In said documents the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court implemented an order that required Verizon to release information to the NSA on an "ongoing, daily basis" culled from its American customers' phone activities.

The following day, The Guardian and The Washington Post released Snowden's leaked information on PRISM, an NSA program that allows real-time information collection electronically. A flood of information followed, and both domestic and international debate ensued.

Immediate Aftermath

"I'm willing to sacrifice [my former life] because I can't in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building," Snowden said in interviews given from his Hong Kong hotel room. One of the people he left behind was his girlfriend Lindsay Mills. The pair had been living together in Hawaii, and she reportedly had no idea that he was about to disclose classified information to the public.

The U.S. government soon responded to Snowden's disclosures legally. On June 14, 2013, federal prosecutors charged Snowden with "theft of government Property," "unauthorized communication of national defense information" and "willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person." The last two charges fall under the Espionage Act. (Before President Barack ObamaLinks to an external site. took office, the act had only been used for prosecutorial purposes three times since 1917. Since President Obama took office, the act had been invoked seven times as of June 2013.)

Snowden remained in hiding for slightly more than a month. He initially planned to relocate to Ecuador for asylum, but, upon making a stopover, he became stranded in a Russian airport for a month when his passport was annulled by the American government. The Russian government denied U.S. requests to extradite Snowden. While some decried him as a traitor, others supported his cause, and more than 100,000 people signed an online petition asking President Obama to pardon Snowden by late June.

The following month, Snowden made headlines again when it was announced that he had been offered asylum in Venezuela, Nicaragua and Bolivia. Snowden soon made up his mind, expressing an interest in staying in Russia. One of his lawyers, Anatoly Kucherena, stated that Snowden would seek temporary asylum in Russia and possibly apply for citizenship later. Snowden thanked Russia for giving him asylum and said that "in the end the law is winning."

That October, Snowden stated that he no longer possessed any of the NSA files that he leaked to press. He gave the materials to the journalists he met with in Hong Kong, but he didn't keep copies for himself. Snowden explained that "it wouldn't serve the public interest" for him to have brought the files to Russia, according to The New York Times. Around this time, Snowden's father, Lon, visited his son in Moscow and continued to publicly express support.

Living in Exile

In November 2013, Snowden's request to the U.S. government for clemency was rejected. The fallout from his disclosures continued to unfold over the next few months, including a legal battle over the collection of phone data by the NSA. President Obama sought to calm fears over government spying in January 2014, ordering U.S. Attorney General Eric HolderLinks to an external site. to review the country's surveillance programs.

Still in exile, Snowden remained a polarizing figure. He made an appearance at the popular South by Southwest festival via teleconference in March 2014. Around this time, the U.S. military revealed that the information Snowden leaked may have caused billions of dollars in damage to its security structures.

In May 2014, Snowden gave a revealing interview with NBC News. He told Brian WilliamsLinks to an external site. that he was a trained spy who worked undercover as an operative for the CIA and NSA, an assertion denied by National Security Adviser Susan RiceLinks to an external site. in a CNN interview. Snowden explained that he viewed himself as a patriot, believing his actions had beneficial results. He stated that his leaking of information led to "a robust public debate" and "new protections in the United States and abroad for our rights to make sure they're no longer violated." He also expressed an interest in returning home to America.

Oscar-Winning 'Citizenfour'

That same year, Snowden was featured in Poitras's highly acclaimed documentary Citizenfour. The director had recorded her meetings with Snowden and Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald. The film went on to win an Academy Award in 2015. Poitras and the winning team was joined onstage by Snowden's girlfriend Mills, with the documentarian saying during her acceptance speech, "When the decisions that rule us are taken in secret, we lose the power to control and govern ourselves."

Since its release, Snowden has remained outspoken on government surveillance. He appeared with Poitras and Greenwald via video-conference in February 2015. Earlier that month, Snowden spoke with students at Upper Canada College via video-conference. He told them that "the problem with mass surveillance is when you collect everything, you understand nothing." He also stated that government spying "fundamentally changes the balance of power between the citizen and the state."

On September 29, 2015, Snowden joined the social media platform TwitterLinks to an external site., tweeting "Can you hear me now?" He had almost two million followers in a little over 24 hours. Just a few days later, a BBC interview was aired in which Snowden stated he'd be willing to return to the U.S. and serve prison time if a plea deal could be reached. An Oliver StoneLinks to an external site. biopic about Snowden has also been in the works, with Joseph Gordon-LevittLinks to an external site. in the lead role. The film is slated for a May 2016 release.

Explanation / Answer

Edward Snowden is a Hero; His revelation of illegal US government activity sparked a global debate.Edward Snowden leaked documents that showed the existence and shocking extent of a global mass surveillance system that the US government used to spy on the personal communications of millions – if not hundreds of millions – of Americans and foreign citizens with no links to terrorism. This system included private emails, phone conversations, web histories, etc. – all without consent or court warrants. Snowden’s decision to share this information consequently prompted a global debate over surveillance techniques and protecting citizens’ privacy, which resulted in the US government passing laws for the first time in decades restricting government surveillance. He acted responsibly with the leaks.Snowden acted responsibly when he revealed that the NSA’s surveillance program was unconstitutional. He was careful in not leaking any details about the algorithms that the NSA used in its operations. Nor did the leaks reveal the identities of the groups or individuals that the agency had targeted or the US agents involved. The leaked data also didn’t contain any details of US military plans or conversations between US or foreign officials.   He paid a steep price to defend civil liberties.Snowden risked his own freedom to bring information into the public domain about the US government endangering its citizens’ civil liberties rather than protecting them. Even former US Attorney General Eric Holder, who believes Snowden is a traitor, admitted that he “performed a public service.” He knew acting upon his conviction to uphold the sanctity of American values would force him into a life on the run, but he leaked the information anyway. Edward Snowden is a Traitor; The way he leaked the information was dubious.If Snowden had been a patriotic whistle blower, he would have first found legal avenues for his pursuit in reigning in the NSA. For instance, he could have appealed to members of Congress, who are elected to represent the American people. Instead, he went straight to largely foreign journalists and newspaper editors and burdened them with the responsibility to decide which of the stolen documents should be kept secret and which should reach the public domain. He damaged US foreign relations;Contrary to Snowden’s claim about wanting to stand up for his fellow Americans, the information he leaked actually created more harm than good. The majority of the information that he shared is about U.S. spying on foreign nations, not its domestic operations. As such, he risked damaging America’s relationship with foreign countries. By doing so, Snowden not only undermined U.S. alliances around the world but also U.S. efforts to undermine enemies that operate in countries where citizens have less ability to protect themselves from tyranny. If he had been a true patriot interested in protecting the American constitution, as he claims he is, he would have focused on collecting and leaking only the information that documented the NSA’s overreach in domestic spying operations. A patriot believes in his cause enough to be willing to face the consequences.If Snowden genuinely believed in the righteousness of his cause and actions, he would have been confident enough to remain in the United States and face the consequences of stealing and leaking the NSA documents. Instead, he escaped to Hong Kong and then Moscow. His seeking refuge in these two countries suggests that their governments gained highly valuable information and insight regarding NSA operations. While Edward Snowden illegally stole and leaked classified NSA documents, he sparked a global debate about surveillance that instigated the US government to change laws that better protect Americans’ right to privacy. However, his actions also endangered US foreign relations and revealed secrets to US enemies.

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