Be a whistleblower for peace BR #7

It seems outrageous to me that a person posing no physical threat to the US would create such an uprising and would influence a whole countries trade relations to other nations. With the growing importance of transparency due to information technology, corporations are required to be upfront and honest, it would seem obvious that the government should follow suit. Not only in the Wikileaks documentary on Snowden, but also on the video of the shooting in Iraq presented earlier in class, it seems that being truthful would appear a lot less convicting on the part of the government. If only the government were able to openly interact with the public when the public demand information regarding the sharing of personal information, then there would be a lot less distrust. The main separation and frustration occurring between the government and the population is the lack of clarity and honesty. The government must recognize that they are in control of the quality of life of millions, and risking a peaceful relationship with other countries in an attempt to save face is inexcusable. 

Another whistleblower that seems to have paved the way for introducing matters of public security is Russ Tice. In 2005 Tice revealed that NSA and the DIA were engaging in illegal wire taps on American citizens during the reign of George Bush. He was previously employed as an intelligence analyst for the US Air Force, the Office of Naval Intelligence and Defence Intelligence Agency. He is said to be the original whistleblower for NSA. After his involvement with media outlets such as the New York Times, he was ordered by a NSA security officer to report for a “psychological evaluation”. He was then suspended and released which also revoked a previous medal he had earned during the war in Iraq.

Thomas Drake was also a whistleblower for NSA in challenging their Trailblazer Project. Drake was a formed executive of NSA and a veteran of both the United States Air Force and the United States Navy. The Trailblazer project was then being developed to track communication patterns on networks like the internet. Drake believed that this initiative went against Americans constitutional right to privacy and thus made public statements against it. Following his actions he was charged on ten counts of various security breaches and was forced to resign from NSA. Due to the indictment he was forced from his job at Strayer University and resorted to working at Apple. 

I believe in both of these whistle blowing cases they were justified in sharing confidential information. In a democratic society it is necessary that the public be made aware of the actions of their elected government as a right. Regardless of the information shared it is imperative that the government remain transparent with the population. It appears in all four cases of whistleblowing that the government has proved to present such hostility towards those speaking the truth that American citizens should be the ones to get involved. The lengths individuals have to go to in order to present the truth should prove how important these circumstances are to begin with.