Preview

Edward Snowden Is A Hero

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
717 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Edward Snowden Is A Hero
Edward Snowden is a Hero: Rebuttal

Richard Estes

Judith Longmeyer

22 JUNE 2014

Edward Snowden has been referred as a Hero in various news media and several newspaper articles. Edward Snowden is one of the biggest traitors our country has ever seen. Douglas Rushkoff from CNN refers to Snowden as a Hero. Snowden is compared to whistle blower Daniel Ellsberg for leaking the “Pentagon Papers” .The “Pentagon Papers” have nothing to do with taking 4 laptops of information of every surveillance program the United States has and defecting the country.

Edward Snowden claims he started as security guard for the National Security Agency. He went on to work for the Central Intelligence Agency in 2006 in the information technology department. He also claims to have worked for civilian contractors employed by
…show more content…
They claim he exposed the world that the United States was illegally monitoring our privacy. Who cares if a computers data log our privacy looking for keywords that terrorist use if it makes us safer. The Pentagon might need to spend billions to overcome the damage done to military security by Edward Snowden's release of classified intelligence documents (Capra, 2014). The NSA also said it will take decades to overcome the damage of Snowden defecting to China and Russia. Our country is less safe now because of the Edward Snowden leaks. The public and ignorant columnist will never know the details because what he stole was classified. Snowden was charged with theft, “unauthorized communication of national defense information” and “willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person,” according to the complaint. The last two charges were brought under the 1917 Espionage Act (Flinn, 2013). He will eventually spend the rest of his life in prison and he is definitely not a

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Who Is Mr Putin A Hero

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the 1980’s Americans at home and millions of Russians living in the Soviet Union said U.S. President Ronald Reagan was a great communicator because he was the first to openly say the Soviet Union was an “evil empire” that must be defeated. However, in today’s Russia, a high percent of Russians regret the Soviet Union collapse which was so relentlessly pursued by the United States. Mr. Putin has called the empire’s break-up “A national tragedy of enormous scale.” This conflict made Mr. Reagan’s Presidency controversial, some saw him as a hero while others saw him as a zealot wanting all the power. People can be seen as a hero to some and a villain to others because of their actions and how they are perceived.…

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Nearly three years ago, in 2013, Edward Snowden – a former American National Security Agency (N.S.A.) contractor – leaked anywhere from a hundred to two hundred thousand classified documents, that proved the existence of massive global surveillance, including of American citizens as well as top world leaders, run by the USA with the active cooperation of many allied governments as well as telecommunication and technology companies.…

    • 694 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Throughout its long history, America has been tormented by a stream of its own traitors. Among those traitors many people believe that Edward Snowden and Julius and Ethel Rosenberg have been some of them. They have both done different deeds that have effected and impacted America in many different ways. Edward Snowden exposed holes in the country’s national security that could have proved disastrous in the future and should be pardoned for his crimes in light of this.…

    • 555 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    This made me cringe. He is the farthest thing from my definition of hero. I believe his actions were unethical, self-serving, and a demonstration of his narcissism. Therefore, following my assessment, I feel confident that I would choose different actions then Edward Snowden. If I was in Edward Snowden’s shoes, I would have taken my concerns to the appropriate officials at the NSA and allow them to address my concerns. If I felt unsatisfied with the explanation, I would resign from my position. I wouldn’t have leaked any information to the press due to its highly sensitive…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    And I will agree with them up until it gets to the legal work he did not take the time to do to finalize his concerns. While Snowden did have every right to question the NSA's legal training process, he had to officially and most importantly, internally sign a complaint to his superiors about the actions. Also, NSA says that any email that Snowden sent stating this concern did not raise allegations about any wrongdoings (Reuters). NSA says that the one email they found was simply asking questions about the training that Snowden had received (Zetter). If you only ask a question, you cannot say that that is raising concerns. Snowden continuously lied to different reporters saying that he had officially reported his concerns. If the NSA does not have those complaints on file, then how could someone truly believe he sent in an official complaint? I believe that if Snowden had properly reported his complaints to his supervisor and tried every possible thing to make sure his voice was being heard, then he should go public. But since Snowden decided to go public right away, all of his supporters are okay with laziness. They are okay with taking the easy way out. Not only is he taking the easy way out by not taking the time to complain, but he is taking the easy way out by hiding in Russia, knowing we cannot go there to arrest him.…

    • 1669 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Snowden copied classified information from the N.S.A. Edward had copied classified information and decided to show it to everyone. What Snowden did harmed the United States because Coping Classified…

    • 475 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Spies During The Cold War

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The spy is considered a hero. But during the Cold War, some spies were paid a lot of money to betray their own country. There were also…

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Edward Snowden is a criminal, yet known as a hero. He knew the consequences if he released the private information to the public. He simply wanted to let America know what actions the government is doing today. He confirmed that the U.S. government, without having any proof of a warrant, collects phone call logs and keeps them in file. The second leak he announced was the N.S.A., who wants to track down foreign suspects, and or criminals, has the capacity to access emails from U.S. based Internet companies. Most people were in disbelief about this information because they thought they had their own freedom on the internet and taking phone calls. Others did not react to Snowden's information because they already suspected it. Either way, this issue is important to be aware about because it can let citizens know what the N.S.A is capable of doing.…

    • 845 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edward Snowden Argument

    • 1168 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Edward Snowden was a hot topic in the news in 2013 after he released classified information from the National Security Agency (NSA) to the media. This leak contained information about global surveillance performed by the United States, which involved monitoring email, tracking cell phones, and logging phone calls. Not only did this action force him into asylum overseas to avoid arrest, but it ultimately caused an uproar in the media and amongst the American public. The controversy surrounding Snowden involves the rights of the public vs. the surveillance programs performed by the U.S. While many condemn Snowden for betraying the national security of his country, many applaud him for exposing the…

    • 1168 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Fdr Is a Hero

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Franklin D. Roosevelt, our 32nd president, was considered to be on of the best presidents because he saved America from disaster. He came into office after President Hoover with a big mess on his desk which was the great depression. Roosevelt promised Americans a New Deal which would help them come out of the great depression and turn America around. Roosevelt is considered a hero for three main things he did. He never forgot the forgotten man, he created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Federal Housing Administration (FHA), The Social Security Administration (SSA), and he saved the country from disaster.…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    meow

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In May 2013, Edward Snowden, a CIA and NSA employee, risked his career and freedom to do something he felt was right; let the world know that the United States had programs such as the interception of telephone metadata, PRISM, XKeyscore, and Tempora internet surveillance programs. This was called the most significant leak in US history by some and sparked up the discussion about the balance between national security and civil liberties. The country needs to strike a balance between national security and civil liberties by sacrificing some of one to give way for more of the other.…

    • 802 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    domestic terrorism

    • 1144 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Snowden duty was to keep the secrets of the U.S as a technical contractor at the CIA and NSA. He was obligated to do as he was told by his superiors, even if he disagreed. As a result of his disagreement he betrayed the very organizations that are keeping the citizens of the U.S.A safe. One example would be the bombing on September 16, 1920. According to Pro Quest Staff.”At Issue: Domestic Terrorism.” Proquest LLC. “An early example of domestic terrorism occurred on Sept. 16 1920, when 38 people were killed after a bomb exploded on Wall Street in the financial district of New York City (Proquest Staff). The documents Snowden released all have a purpose. The U.S.A has to not only look out for terrorist around the globe but the people in their own territory as well. Referring back to Serrano, Richard A.”Americans Radicalized by Al Qaeda Are a Big Concern.”Los Angeles Times. “ We are focused on trying to figure out what our people are up—who should be spoken to, who should be followed, who should be charged”(Serrano). There is too many people and very little trustworthy citizens. For those who are loyal deserve the best national security and that is why we would monitor foreign countries and monitor the people of the U.S.A. Snowden ideal was nothing but his own selfish opinion. American are now exposed to terrorist online and…

    • 1144 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Former C.I.A. employee Snowden leaked classified information about the National Security Agency’s programs. In other words, Snowden broke the law, and in doing so, he opened the eyes of the public to what some would perceive as an invasion of privacy. Those same people who perceived Snowden’s act of civil disobedience as an act of heroism would argue that this invasion of privacy is unjust according to the U.S. Constitution. In the event of Snowden’s civil disobedience, Snowden created distrust between Americans and the U.S. government by insinuating that the American government was unjustly infringing upon the rights of its citizens, and suggesting that there should be no circumstances in which this is legal or accepted by the American people. The reality is, however, that without organizations such as the N.S.A. there to monitor Americans from afar, the American nation would be open to millions of threats. In fact, those who view Snowden as a hero would likely view things differently if for example the safety of their nation was compromised by a secret terrorist organization within the United States which, without the efforts of the N.S.A.’s programs, had gone undetected. If this was the case, they would likely be arguing in favor of creating these programs rather than demolishing them. Therefore, it is reasonable to conclude that in the case of Edward Snowden’s act of civil disobedience, society was negatively impacted by…

    • 800 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Edward Snowden, a NSA computer professional, fueled the already strong stereotype of government being corrupt and hypocritical by revealing the government agencies’ surveillance operations on the public. The leak initiated controversy, and many debate whether Snowden was an American hero who is attempting to prevent tyranny or a traitor who is selling Russia classified information. The United States government has charged Snowden with violation of the Espionage Act, and they are attempting to apprehend him to face trial in the U.S. In reality, Snowden displays both. He held the government accountable to its hypocrisy and violation of the constitution as the government has done before in the condoning of slavery and segregation, and he took refuge in an enemy of the United States which escalated tensions and provoked possible conclusions on his true…

    • 867 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    n the past weeks Julian Assange has been seen as everything from a folk hero to a traitor who according to one local anonymous resident “deserves to be hanged.” Sadly, with very few exceptions people are misunderstanding the idea behind what he has done and the backlash it has created.…

    • 836 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays