He could have been a hero...instead he turned himself into nothing more than a thief on the run.
Edward Snowden is truly a controversial character, but mostly he is extolled as a hero, a brave whistleblower, and a darling of civil libertarians (as an aside, I am a lifelong member of the ACLU). But to me, he is none of these things. He could have been, but he is not, because of his behavior after his disclosures.
If indeed, his prime, or perhaps only, objective was to right the wrongs in the dangerous National Security Agency (NSA) surveillance program, he could have done that in a variety of controlled, effective, and legal ways. He did not. Instead, he chose to flee the country with thousands of classified documents…offer them to nations unfriendly to the United States…seek refuge away from his native land…and now bargain (i.e. “blackmail) his government into some sort of amnesty with the threat of leaking more classified information to unfriendly hands. If he wanted to achieve his primary goal, all that extraneous stuff was not only unnecessary, but as President Obama said in his news conference: “… (it) did damage to U.S. Intelligence capabilities, and U. S. diplomacy.”
Further more, what he did was obviously illegal. As stated in Section 18 US Code “Disclosure of Classified Information” the code reads (abbreviated) : “(a) Whoever knowingly and willfully communicates, furnishes, transmits, or otherwise makes available to an unauthorized person, or publishes, or uses in any manner prejudicial to the safety or interest of the United States or for the benefit of any foreign government to the detriment of the United States any classified information— Shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both. “ If breaking laws has no consequences, then we are in more trouble than the surveillance of our phone numbers.
If Snowden wanted his legacy to be that of a hero, and the advancement of civil and constitutional liberties in America, he had several avenues in which he could have done that without sneaking out of the country with his booty. He chose not to do that – possibly he has an agenda beyond simply blowing the whistle on NSA activities? That is yet to be determined. So, what would these avenues be?
Well, among them are using the press as a conduit for further discovery. That has proven effective over the decades; the press would be a willing partner. Secondly, seeking professional legal advice as to how to expose his findings – and clearly what the NSA was doing was bad, possibly unconstitutional, and almost certainly illegal. Further, there was the prospect that their activities could expand into something incredibly more offensive to our liberties. Beyond that, throughout our history there are continuing laws, Executive Orders, directives etc regarding the handling of classified information. Along with that there are procedures that can be followed when violations occur. Snowden chose not to follow those procedures and instead fled the country with his stash of classified information as some sort of bargaining tool – either with us, or the countries to where he fled (and is still fleeing).
But the best option was to bring his information to the oversight committees of the House and Senate – particularly the Intelligence Committees. While it is true that some previous investigations have floundered, they would not this time in the House. Why? Because the House committees would never miss an opportunity to damage the Obama administration. Snowden would have been welcomed with open arms, the truth of NSA activities would come out, and there would be a firestorm of incrimination and anger. That is not to say that anything productive would come out of such hearings, but if Snowden’s true goal was to expose wrong doing in the NSA, that goal would have been accomplished, and Snowden would have been hailed as a courageous whistleblower. Not now.
Then there is the oath we take when we are given the responsibility to serve our country. When I was commissioned as an officer in the USAF, part of the oath I took read: “I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservations or purpose of evasion…” To call out wrongdoing or exposing acts one feels are unconstitutional is the right and obligation of a whistleblower. To aid an enemy or potential enemy of our country in doing so, is over the top
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Finally, back to Snowden’s actions after he exposed the NSA activity, there I can think of no better source of advice than Martin Luther King, Jr.: “One who breaks an unjust law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.” King, of course, has become one the great heroes of civil liberties; Snowden, despite the value of his whistle blowing has become little more than an international thief on the run.