Jackie Robin
Is the NSA Not So Amenable?
Is the NSA Abusing Their Power? How Much Privacy do We Really Have?
whis · tle - blow · er
noun
The disclosure by a person, usually an employee in a government agency or private enterprise, to the public or to those in authority, of mismanagement, corruption, illegality, or some other wrongdoing.
The National Security Agency (NSA) has a mission to lead the United States Government in all aspects of Computer Network Operations to gain an advantage for the Nation & our allies. In order to accomplish this, the agency has all access to any and all technology used in the U.S. and worldwide. To read more about their goals and core values click here! Interestingly enough, their first goal discusses their need to succeed in today’s operations “while protecting privacy and civil liberties” (nsa.gov).
We should hope that these prestigious, honest sounding goals are taught to each employee with the highest expectations that they abide by these goals as well as follow the constitution. Our fourth amendment entails our right to privacy and it is often questioned if the NSA violates that right. In order to be successful in keeping our nation safe, the NSA has to manage technology that we use and exploit data to have an advantage if the nation were in any threatening situations. Understandably, I can sacrifice a personal phone call if it means the NSA is honestly concerned about a threat to the nation. What many are not willing to sacrifice, also understandably, is the NSA intercepting useless data to share with their coworkers by showing them aspects of someone personal life as a form of entertainment in a workplace.
A young man named Edward Snowden (pictured right) is a whistleblower. This is someone who basically exploits illigal activity in, particularly, government organizations. In other words, a tattletale. They exploit any criminal and unconstituional activity that organizations, such as the NSA, are involved in.
Edward Snowden
Short on time? Fast forward to 7:13-7:52 for what I think is the most important part of this interview.
First of all, I don't care who you are - if you have this much courage to literally put your own life and well-being at stake for your country is impossible to wrap my head around and, automatically, I give him so much respect. I commend Snowden as much as I commend the military. If we are being honest, I commend him a little more. The military is on the government's side, but Snowden is challenging them. It honestly shocked me a little bit to see how much negative light was being shed on him when he was doing it to open our eyes. I don't think he committed treason, I think he is trying to show America that we aren't being told the truth about important circumstances. While I do think the government hides certain things for our own good (what we don't know might not hurt us) but when hiding changes to lying is where the line is drawn.
Do you ever get that feeling someone is watching you? Maybe if you are walking to class, or in the park – somewhere you are out in the open you may feel like that. But what about in your own home? The truth is, our phone and computer usage is tracked and not anonymously, either. Is this violating our fourth amendment?
It saddens me how manipulating all of this is. I can’t help but ask how this stands in court when it is challenging the government. The court is the government! Well, thankfully we have some truly just men that are willing to challenge how constitutional the acts of the NSA are. The Washington Times reported in December 2013 about the behavior of the NSA. Judges and other politicians fought for change in the NSA's behavior just like Snowden and Drake did. However, the system one again.
“The NSA is out of control and operating in an unconstitutional manner,”
-Senator Bernard Sanders, Vermond Independent
What is so important about Snowden's interview (above) is what he says at 7:13-7:52. If what he says there doesn't get America's attention, then that is a massive problem. He lays out the exact example of violating privacy and abusing the system in forty short seconds. The data stored in their memory bank is anything and everything we have ever done. What I think is so important he says is EVEN if we are called under suspicion WRONGLY, the NSA has the power to overanalyze every move we ever made to completely destroy our innocence. They can make any non-guilty man, guilty. That is absolutely abuse of power and violates much more than the fourth amendment. The fact our government has that much power is absolutely violating this country's values. Snowden hasn't been the only one trying to draw attention to the NSA, however. Thomas Drake is another whistleblower who was actually framed by the NSA - which proves Snowden's point that they have too much power.
Although I am reporting very basic information about the NSA, I honestly feel like I put myself in a dangerous place by choosing this topic to research. I've barely gotten my hands dirty and what other people have done compared to me is mind-blowing. I'm sure I'm going to be put into some special file folder of somewhat suspicious people and that is so disturbingly creepy but at the same time I have nothing to hide so I can settle with it. That's just it though, should I settle with it?
So, we have the NSA doing sketchy things behind their big secret doors, but what I want to ask is this: If there is this kind of technology out there to spy on everyone in the world, couldn't someone get their own agency together and build up the technology they have in order to spy on the NSA to see if they are keeping their goals and values a main focus? Isn't that how Apple was created? Steve Jobs got a very small group of people together to make the Macintosh. They continued day in and out to create what has become a technological breakthrough. What if someone were to do the same and go up against the NSA or any other agency for that matter. If the government is doing it, why can't someone else, right?
I want to take a look at the other side of the argument. It is clear to me the NSA is a incredible agency doing things to keep us safe in the US. I think this type of agency is a beneficial thing to our nation. However, there need to be guidelines with extremely specific, black and white, wrong or right, definite lines drawn of what they can and cannot do.
It is hard to grasp why such evil people as Al Queda want to harm us. Before the 9/11 attacks, these terrorists were being spied on by the NSA. They clearly outsmarted them but there is quite a lot we knew prior to being targeted. Al Queda would communicate through public telephones in random coffee shops all throughout the Middle East. While they had a coded dialogue, the NSA still traced them enough times to encrypt their messages. So if they still pursued their attack with the NSA practically on top of them, it makes me think maybe they should be listening in on our average phone calls. Wouldn’t you rather them overhear something personal if they were making sure there wasn’t an undercover threat being made to our nation? For me, I can sacrifice that. But what I won’t sacrifice is my own personal life being a form of entertainment in the work place. There were instances where nude pictures were being intercepted by the NSA and it was “casual” (words of Snowden) to pass it around the office. While obviously I don’t agree sending nudes is okay, and you’re taking your own risk with that, I still think that is absolutely absurd and utterly unprofessional for not just a business but a government to behave like.
NSA goes braindead and miss information about hijackers in San Diego. They miss a very important phone call.
Right before 9/11 these hijackers were living nect door to the NSA offices with neither of them being aware.
"Let me put a fine point on this. If as we are speaking here this afternoon Osama Bid Laden is walking across the Peace Bridge from Ontario to Niagara Falls, as he gets to the New York side he is an American person and my agency must respect his rights against unreasonable search and seizure as provided by the fourth amendment to the constitution.”
General Michael Hayden
NSA director 1999-2005
Bamford Documentary (Right)
Should we be watched? Do you feel safe with your life in the hands of the government? “If 9/11 is a wakeup call, the response is a license to listen to almost anything and everything,” (Bamford Documentary). In a sense, I feel more safe – but maybe that is because I’m just an open person and don’t really care who knows about my personal life because it is a very typical life. I also don’t know if that is the point. People may not care if the government knows about their divorce or dog dying, but they care that they have the power to know, the power to ruin a life because of basic decisions and mistakes you made years ago that were totally irrelevant to anything you’re under suspicion for.
Why should you care about your privacy? You should care because this is an age where people will have their entire life on their computer and cell phones. They are most likely an innocent, average person with nothing really harmful to hide. But what if their name is the same of a criminal's? And maybe their phone number is one number difference between this person and the criminal, and on top of that maybe they are from the same home town. Coincidence happens - what if the wrong man is convicted because all his decisions were analyzed to an unrealistic and absurd conclusion that he is in fact guilty? We have these rights for a reason. We have privacy for a reason. It is to maintain innocence in situations such as these.
"Without an official inquiry, some questions can't be answered." -James Bamford