Menace or Assurance? :
A Rhetorical Perspective on the Issue of WikiLeaks
Founded in 2006 by Australian journalist Julian Assange, the website WikiLeaks had quickly risen in infamy over the past few years (Majerol 19). The controversial website had posted hundreds of thousands of classified documents about the Iraq and Afghanistan war, revealing government cover-ups, a secret assassination unit and the killing of civilians among many things. The release of these confidential documents has produced two opposing views on whether or not WikiLeaks is a good thing (Pilger 18).
In an article highlighting the benefits of WikiLeaks, Steven Greenhut explains that Julian Assange and his website have “done our nation a service”. Greenhut asserts that by distributing the details on how U.S. government runs its foreign affairs, WikiLeaks is embodying the true spirit of a transparent government, one that is of the people, by the people, and for the people. A truly open government, he says, is the “cornerstone of a free society”. The government, he says, will always pull out the “’endangering lives’ or ‘protecting security’” card in order to protect its own interests and conceal its past transgressions. He insists that there is no proof that any information released by the website will endanger anyone. The only people who will be negatively affected, Greenhut says, would be the government officials whose “hypocrisy and corruption” would be shamefully exposed (Greenhut 1.)
In the opposite side of the argument stands S.E. Cupp. In an article, she says that WikiLeaks and its proponents are jeopardizing innocent life by recklessly releasing unfiltered information for the entire world to access. She argues that by irresponsibly posting classifi...
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... Entertainment, and Gossip - NY Daily News. 1 Sept. 2010. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. .
Cupp, Sarah Elizabeth. "Official Website of S.E. Cupp." Red S.E. Cupp. Web. 17 Mar. 2011.
Greenhut, Steven. "WikiLeaks No Threat to Free Society | Government, Information, People - Opinion - The Orange County Register." The Orange County Register : The Orange County Register. 3 Dec. 2010. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. .
Majerol, Veronica. "Is WikiLeaks like the Pentagon Papers?" New York Times [New York] 21 Feb. 2011, Vol. 143 ed., Issue 10 sec.: 19. Print.
Pilger, John. "WikiLeaks Must Be Protected." World Citizen [Minneapolis] 23 Aug. 2010, Vol 139 ed., Issue 5015 sec.: 18. Print.
McCraw, David, and Stephen Gikow. “The End to a Unspoken Bargain? National Security and Leaks in a Post-Pentagon Papers World.” Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review 48.2 (2013): 473-509. Academic OneFile. Web. 5 Dec. 2013.
... E. (2011). The net delusion. The dark side of internet freedom. New York, NY, USA: PublicAffairs.
In an editorial on Wikileaks it is claimed that, “At stake over 1.5 billion dollars worth of...
In 1971, Daniel Ellsberg, a former United States military analyst employed by the RAND Corporation, instigated a national political controversy when he released the top-secret Pentagon Papers to The New York Times (Bean, 2014). These papers exposed presidential deception about the Vietnam War by revealing that the U.S. had secretly enlarged the scale (Bean, 2014). In 2010, Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning, a U.S. army soldier leaked the largest set of classified documents in history to WikiLeaks (Bean, 2014). The information consisted of substantial archive of confidential government documents and the U.S. government has revealed that it was in the hands of Osama bin Laden (Bean, 2014). Even with the amount of information disclosed by these so called ‘whistleblowers,’ no official investigations into alleged war crimes or government misconduct has been issued (Bean, 2014). Both Ellsberg and Manning however, were charged with the Espionage Act of delivering factual information to American citizens. Ellsberg claimed, “The public is lied to every day by the president, by his spokespeople, by his officers. If you can't handle the thought that the president lies to the public for all kinds of reasons, you couldn't stay at that government at that level, where you're made aware of it, a week.” (Kreisler, personal communication, 1998). The privacy and civil rights abuses along with fear of...
It is the way of life in this age, to search the internet for leisure, research and general amusement. When you are not able to communicate with someone face to face, you pick up the phone. When you venture out of your house for any reason and into populated areas, you are recorded by businesses, photographed by red light cameras, and recorded by traffic cameras. The government has the capacity to watch all of this use. Last year, Edward Snowden’s leaked documents proved it that Big Brother is indeed watching. (Orwell 1)
"The Triumph of Technique – The Logic of the NSA." LibrarianShipwreck. WordPress.com, 22 June 2013. Web. 08 Feb. 2014.
With the introduction of the internet being a relatively new phenomenon, the act of cyber espionage is not something that has been properly acknowledged by society. The American Government has done a stand up job of keeping its methods in the shadows and away from the eyes of its people since its documented domestic surveillance began on October 4th, 2001; Twenty three days after the Twin Towers fell President George Bush signed an order to begin a secret domestic eavesdropping operation, an operation which was so sensitive that even many of the country's senior national security officials with the...
"NSA Surveillance Programs." Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 14 Oct. 2013. Web. 20 Nov. 2013. .
Currently, Snowden’s leaks have revealed a global surveillance apparatus used by the NSA as well as Britain’s Joint Threat Research Intelligence Group, a surveillance apparatus in the UK that conducts real time monitoring of social media networks. The exact size of Snowden's disclosure is unknown, but the following are possible: 15,000 or more Australian intelligence files, according to Australian officials9; at least 58,000 British intelligence files, according to British officials10; and roughly 1.7 million U.S. intelligence files, according to U.S. officials.11 Snowden’s leaks are unprecedented on several levels. His disclosure has been called the most significant leak in U.S. history by Pentagon Papers leaker Daniel Ellsberg.12 Regardless of future action, the debate on the protection of...
Pilger, John. "Understanding The Prism Leaks Is Understanding The Rise Of A New Fascism." New Statesman 142.5163 (2013): 36. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 27 Feb. 2014.
Edward Snowden, the famous “whistleblower”, shocked the world with his revelations about the NSA’s database and the programs which allow the organization to access personal information not only of citizens of other nations, but also of citizens of the U.S. The most shocking revelation of all was not the existence of these programs, but the fact that the Obama administration allowed those programs to exist in direct violation of every U.S. citizen’s right to privacy.
Julian Assange an Australian editor, activist, journalist and publisher launched the WikiLeaks website in the year 2006. From that moment, the site spiraled rapidly into the limelight all over the world. It then came to be known as the most powerful whistle-blowing and also the most scandalous “media” in the online world. WikiLeaks profanes and violates the right of privacy, right of accountability and confidentiality among Information and data sharing also it has a negative impact on governments, private sectors or businesses and also individuals, there is also a big question of accountability.
Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency (N.S.A) subcontractor turned whistle-blower is nothing short of a hero. His controversial decision to release information detailing the highly illegal ‘data mining’ practices of the N.S.A have caused shockwaves throughout the world and have raised important questions concerning how much the government actually monitors its people without their consent or knowledge. Comparable to Mark Felt in the Watergate scandals, Daniel Ellsberg with the Pentagon Papers, Edward Snowden joins the rank of infamous whistleblowers who gave up their jobs, livelihood, and forever will live under scrutiny of the public all in the service to the American people. Edward Snowden released information detailing the extent of the N.S.A breaches of American privacy and in doing so, became ostracized by the media and barred from freely reentering America, his home country.
It is reasonable to argue that, governmental institutions or people with authority are subject to withhold a great deal of information from society. Many may argue that secrets are kept to ensure the safety of the nation. Thus, upholding the governmental duty of protecting the nation against possible threats. On the other hand, many believe that secrets may exist which violate our constitutional rights. Over the last year, Edward Snowden, has made headline news for leaking sensitive governmental information to the press. Edward Snowden is a 29-year-old high school drop-out, who was a tech specialist for the National Security Association. Snowden had discovered and later exposed the NSA for monitoring the nations e-mails, phone calls, and internet searches. As the allegations spread like wild fire, Edward Snowden sought asylum in Russia for one year. Snowden had a valid and justifiable reason to expose the NSA to the world because they were in violation of our fourth Amendment rights to unreasonable searches and seizures. The government called him a traitor, while others viewed him as a hero for exposing the government. Edward Snowden is a whistle blower because he felt that it is up to society to decide if governmental practices are just or unjust. Snowden does “express the highest respect for the law”, and he wanted to protect the right of privacy for American citizens.
Gonchar, Michael. “What Is More Important: Our Privacy or National Security?” New York Times. New York Times, 17 Sept. 2013. Web. 22 Feb. 2014.