A view on Edward Snowden’s case Essay

American security consultant working for NSA on behalf of Booz Hamilton consulting Leaked top secret US and UK govt surveillance programs data to press bcoz of his â€Å"conscience† Charges on him of : espionage, theft of govt property. Leaked it to Guardian. Also, Nuremberg 1945 act says that â€Å"individuals have international duties that transcend national obligations of obedience. Therefore individuals have the duty to violate domestic laws to prevent crimes against humanity† Daniel Ellsberg did similar expose in 1971, releasing US decisions on Vietnam war, and was also awarded in 1978 â€Å"Gandhi Peace Prize†. These â€Å"Pentagon papers† revealed that US knew it was gonna lose the war and that casualties would be higher if it continued. Snowden applied for political asylum in 20 countries but each was indirectly threatened by US. A hero, dissident, traitor, whistle-blower, and a patriot. Snowden made contact with The Guardian in late 2012. Left Hawaii for Hong Kong on May 20, 2013. Iceland was his choice but could not make it coz of fear of being interdicted. A 5min movie Verax was also made showing his successful hiding in Hong Kong 20 applications for asylum. Temporary asylum of 1year in Russia which could be renewed annually. Granted on August 1st Reactions: US National Intelligence chief calls it reckless. Obama dismisses him but still calls him no patriot and Americans were better off without knowing about the surveillance activities. Also, NI chief says it was good coz we needed the debate on secutiry vs privacy since long-time. Bt LAVABIT, an email service provider used by Snowden had to be shutdown after they felt they were going against the grain of being for the people â€Å"What makes us different from other countries is not simply our ability to secure our nation,† Obama said. â€Å"It’s the way we do it, with open debate and democratic process.† If that’s so, then Edward Snowden should be hailed as a hero. There’s simply no doubt that his leaks led to more open debate and more democratic process than would’ve existed otherwise. Obama reluctantly admitted as much. â€Å"There’s no doubt that Mr. Snowden’s leaks triggered a much more rapid and passionate response than would have been the case if I had simply appointed this review board,† he said, though he also argued that absent Snowden, â€Å"we would have gotten to the same place, and we would have done so without putting at risk our national security and some very vital ways that we are able to get intelligence that we need to secure the country.†