Clapter's Argument Analysis

Furthermore, the disclosure disaffirms the authenticity and credibility of government officials’ testimony. While a few months ago the director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, denied that the NSA collects any type of data, General Alexander, the director of the NSA, also rejected that the agency could intercept online communications (Cassidy “Why Edward” par.10). After comparing Clapper and Alexander to Snowden, Cassidy argues that Clapper and Alexander should face charges of misleading Congress. The falsity of officials’ statement distinguishes Snowden as “a man of conscience”, who should be excused and hailed as a hero (Cassidy “Why Edward” par.12).

On the other hand, Toobin refutes Cassidy’s statement, claiming that Snowden is

The article calls for the US government to offer a plea or some forms of clemency to Snowden, and the author makes the claim because they believe that the NSA exceeded its mandate and abused authority. In this article, these writers maintain that Snowden deserves better than a life of permanent exile through emphasizing “the enormous value” of the information he has revealed (The Editorial Board par.4). Snowden’s disclosure is valuable since it divulges that “government officials have routinely and deliberately broken the law” (The Editorial Board par. 17). As the article said, the NSA’s operation breaks federal privacy laws, exceeds its authority, systematically undermines the basic encryption systems of the Internet, and probably violates the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution (The Editorial Board par. 11-15). These illegal actions make it impossible for the public to know if there are truly privacy on the internet, damaging trust on which sensitive banking and online business are build, and weakening the trust between government and its

He denies the idea that Snowden should be pardoned, owing to his supportive opinion about the NSA’s operations overall. Though Kaplan agrees that the surveillance of American citizens possibly needs some sorts of reforms, he maintains that the collection of emails and phone calls from other non-allied countries is proper. From his perspective, the interception of communicating information and the hacking of computer of Pakistan and China “have nothing to do with domestic surveillance or even spying on allies. They are not illegal, improper, or immoral” (Kaplan par.4-5). This different point of view about domestic and international spying directs Kaplan to make his judgment of Snowden. Kaplan admits that an offer of leniency is worth discussing if all of the information Snowden stole only involves domestic surveillance. However, Kaplan suggest that Snowden did more than that, and the revealing of legal government operations should lead him to face