National Security and Civil Liberties, Essay Example

The manner by which the NSA (National Security Agency) has been accessing the records and personal information of millions of Americans since the September 11, 2001 hijackings in New York City and Washington, DC will be explored. The documentary which was viewed is titled: “Empire of Secrets” by Top Documentary Films. The function of the NSA in national security was reviewed.  The right of Americans with regards to civil liberties was detailed. The violation of the privacy of Americans in the United States was explored in this essay.

The domestic activities of the national security agency have been the focus of controversy during the past several years. In the entire antecedence of the United States of America, there have been a variety of terrorist attacks that have been directed at the members of the American public. The U.S. government cannot be held at fault for its desire of being able to be ahead of the potential terrorists’ actions instead of behind. The mina objective of the national security agency is the safety of the American public. There must be an equilibrium maintained between security and liberty (Shorrock 199).

There is the tendency of members of the American society to perceive the topic of civil liberties compared to national security. There are no reasons why national security and civil liberties cannot coexist. It is feasible to apply national security while maintaining the preservation of the U.S. citizens’ civil liberties. It is everyone’s desire to reside in peace and harmony. Since 2001, the United States has applied government contractors in its security activities (Shorrock 201).

There are approximately 400,000 contractors who work in the field of domestic intelligence gathering. The number of contractors is attributed to the potential terrorist risk in the nation. The terrorists apply the cyber environment in order to attack. Furthermore, the cyber environment has become the   focus the terrorists attacks. Anyone who would like to learn the manner by which to construct an explosive device that has the capacity of mass destruction only needs to access the internet to do so. The terrorists’ factions would also be able to access the information with regards to the enemy statistics in order to implement a more effective assault. There is no targeting of individual innocent Americans by the NSA (Shorrock, 202).

In the event that a person is a law abiding peaceful citizen there should be no cause for alarm with regards to the intelligence gathering activities of the NSA. It is perceivable that the gathering of information on millions of Americans could be viewed as an invasion of privacy. However, there is the choice of two evils. Would it be preferable to have a government agency listening to conversations occasionally or would it be preferable to have a terrorist event that can cause millions of fatalities? The NSA has less than 30,000 member of its staff and there are more than 315,000,000 residents (Bamford 523).

The potential of being monitored is equivalent to winning a state lottery. The NSA is not interested in the personal habits of Americans. The NSA is interested in communications with terrorist groups by residents. These communications with terrorists could have the capacity of being detrimental to American citizens (Bamford 523). In June of 2013, Edward Snowden disseminated information with regards to the activities which were conducted by the National Security Agency. Edward Snowden was a contractor for the NSA. Edward Snowden detailed that the National Security Agency was conducting online and telephone monitoring of American citizens in the United States (Greenwald 63). The information was disseminated to a newspaper organization in the United Kingdom called: The Guardian. Prior to Snowden’s dissemination of the infiltration with regards to the activities of the NSA, there had been no public awareness of PRISM. There had been no public outcry with respect to the violations of personal privacy conducted by the NSA (Greenwald 63).

The NSA is a necessary organization with regards to public security. The NSA has been successful in deterring a number of terrorist attacks prior to the dissemination of information by Edward Snowden. One of the terrorists who had been deterred prior to Snowden’s distribution of information was Naijbullah Zazi. The plan to bomb the New York Subway system by Naijbullah Zazi in 2009 was foiled by the NSA. Zazi was associated with an Al- Qaeda agent who was a Middle Eastern operative (Silber 164). The information regarding the failed subway bombing was discovered by the NSA subsequent to monitoring his phone calls and internet communications. Prior to Snowden’s dissemination of information, the NSA was perceived as an innocuous organization which was not causing damage by its surveillance activities in the United States. . Subsequent to the September 11, 2001 attacks, there have been more than fifty terrorist attempts which were foiled by the activities of the NSA. The government is caught in a contradiction between civil liberties and national securities. There is the sacrifice of liberty in order to have safety for the general public in the United States (Greenwald 75).

Conclusion

The United States is the location that its residents regards as home. The declaration that privacy is more significant than the well-being of citizens is a perception which does not consider the greater good. The activities of the NSA have prevented numerous potential attacks on the United States. It is impossible for the United States to be completely protected from terrorists’ threats. However, the NSA is performing an important function. The NSA is an integral organization in the security system of the United States of America.

Works Cited

Bamford, James. Body of secrets: Anatomy of the ultra-secret National Security Agency. New York, NY: Random House, Inc. 2008.Print.

Greenwald, Glenn. No place to hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. surveillance state. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company.

Shorrock, Tim. Spies for hire: The secret world of intelligence outsourcing. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, 2008. Print.

Silber, Mitchell D. The Al- Qaeda factor: Plots against the west. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2012. Print.

Top Documentary Films.” Empire of secrets.” Top Documentary Films, 2015. Web 16 April 2015. http;//topdocumentaryfilms.com/empire-secrets/