Pros And Cons Of Snowden
It is not reasonable for world leaders to trust their fellow world leaders to not spy on them in regards to military and economic strategies. The basis for this opinion is simple and lies within the heart of the concept of sovereignty: the most imperative objective of any state is to defend its citizens, socially, militarily, and economically. In the event that any nation, even one that is considered to be friendly, potentially poses a threat to another, the targeted nation has every right to surveil the other. For instance, if Great Britain was rumored to have plans to stage a military coup in France, France would not be wrong to spy on Great Britain and its citizens for confirmation. On the other hand, even when the spying is not so evidently
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A Guardian article details the entirety of the ordeal, which, in short, involved Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee, leaking NSA files to the public, which disclosed some of the NSA’s domestic and global surveillance initiatives. In response to the backlash from Snowden’s leaks, both at home and overseas, the NSA contended that “secrecy…is essential…[for] protecting the public from terrorist attacks” (MacAskill and Dance). The objective in providing this example is not to justify the alleged actions of the NSA, but to show that spying is not beneath any nation and may be kept secret for decades, even centuries, under the sometimes-justified guise of national security. Per The Guardian, in response to Edward Snowden’s revelations, the UN’s rapporteur on counterterrorism released a report which argues that mass and global surveillance “is…a serious challenge to an established norm of international law…[, which is] the right to privacy” (Bowcott and Ackerman). Indeed, the right to privacy is crucial to uphold; and I in no way intend to imply that every nation, or any nation, participates in thorough global surveillance on a regular basis. Still, I believe it is naive for any world leader to expect his or her colleagues to refrain from spying on them when they find it necessary, particularly for the safety of their countries and their citizens, and vice
A Guardian article details the entirety of the ordeal, which, in short, involved Edward Snowden, a former CIA employee, leaking NSA files to the public, which disclosed some of the NSA’s domestic and global surveillance initiatives. In response to the backlash from Snowden’s leaks, both at home and overseas, the NSA contended that “secrecy…is essential…[for] protecting the public from terrorist attacks” (MacAskill and Dance). The objective in providing this example is not to justify the alleged actions of the NSA, but to show that spying is not beneath any nation and may be kept secret for decades, even centuries, under the sometimes-justified guise of national security. Per The Guardian, in response to Edward Snowden’s revelations, the UN’s rapporteur on counterterrorism released a report which argues that mass and global surveillance “is…a serious challenge to an established norm of international law…[, which is] the right to privacy” (Bowcott and Ackerman). Indeed, the right to privacy is crucial to uphold; and I in no way intend to imply that every nation, or any nation, participates in thorough global surveillance on a regular basis. Still, I believe it is naive for any world leader to expect his or her colleagues to refrain from spying on them when they find it necessary, particularly for the safety of their countries and their citizens, and vice