Bring Snowden Back

Edward Snowden was an employee of Booz Allen Hamilton, a National Security Agency contractor, when he leaked details of secret surveillance programs conducted both by the NSA and by security agencies from other countries, to The Guardian. Anticipating a powerful backlash from the American security apparatus, he immediately left the United States, hiding in Moscow for a couple weeks before being granted asylum in Russia

He should not have needed to flee. Limiting the government’s power over its citizens is one of the core values of the United States. Snowden’s disclosures kept with this spirit, which is why he should not have feared prosecution.

Collection of intelligence has legitimate roles, even in a free society. It can be used to protect citizens from threats both foreign and domestic. It did so in one notorious case: the attempted Times Square bombing in 2010. Especially when dealing with terrorist threats, making such information public would allow wrongdoers to adapt their actions to avoid being caught. This is the main reason for the Patriot Act, designed shortly after 9/11 to expand U.S. surveillance against potential terrorist threats.

But any such surveillance program should be publicly known, limited in scope, and most importantly, approved by the U.S. population. The NSA’s extensive database of phone calls, emails, and other electronic communications from regular citizens does not fulfill any these conditions. It was an undercover operation that infringed on basic civil liberties such as the right to privacy and protection from unwarranted searches. The American population never agreed to their phone calls being secretly recorded; Congress, which represents the people, has never authorized such conduct.

Even the creator of the Patriot Act himself, Representative Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), has said, “Seizing phone records of millions of innocent people is excessive and un-American.”

Given all of this, one wonders why Edward Snowden had to seek asylum in Russia. Russia is clearly not the most progressive country, and it has recently been on a trend of erecting more and more barriers to civil liberties, such as the recently enacted law against “homosexual propaganda.” Its decision to grant Snowden asylum has less to do with concerns about American surveillance programs than with cynical geopolitical calculations. Vladimir Putin’s government seeks to curb American influence around the world. By turning Snowden into an object of international attention, it can successfully defend itself from American accusations of authoritarianism by providing a counterexample that showcases American governmental overreach. Forcing someone who fights for freedom, such as Snowden, to leave the country for Russia certainly harms America’s image in the international community.

The United States’ image around the world has already been severely tainted in the past decade with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. The last thing America needs is another scandal that will continue to fuel anti-American sentiment. Unfortunately, the American government’s response to the NSA leaks has yielded precisely that effect. French and Portuguese actions such as blocking Bolivian president Evo Morales’s plane for the suspicion that it was harboring Snowden contribute to the perception of American hubris. Espionage directed at several world leaders such as the presidents of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, and Mexico, Enrique Peña Nieto, compromise American relations with important, democratic allies. The nine-hour interrogation of David Miranda, the partner of Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald, who originally published the leaks, in Britain lends credence to the fear that even freedom of the press is being restricted.

While America’s European allies conducted many of these operations, such as the aircraft blockade, the blame ultimately falls with the United States, which for the past three months has moved heaven and earth to hunt down Snowden and anyone who may have collaborated with him. Shouldn’t the government be searching for terrorists instead of whistleblowers? The reaction to the Snowden affair has corroborated the impression of a bloated security apparatus distracted from its original mission of protecting the country from terrorist threats. The quest for Snowden was not started by worries about national security; it has always been about protecting and asserting governmental power.

Being confronted with a mistake, America is making another, bigger one. It should bring Edward Snowden back home as soon as possible, not to prosecute but to celebrate him. Such an action would keep with its historically progressive and democratic values, and it would work wonders to restore its damaged standing with other nations.

Luis H. Usier ’15, a Crimson editorial writer, is a chemical and physical biology concentrator in Dunster House.