Does Great Openness Threaten National Security?
Lorrianne Lucas
W0443814
Assignment 9
Afghanistan Dilemma Following the September 11 terror attacks, the U.S. sent thousands of troops to Afghanistan to pursue the al Qaeda terrorists who plotted the terror attacks. Almost 10 years ago, the U.S. sent troops to the Central Asian country in order to protect the U.S. after Osama Bin Laden declared war on the United States. Within a year of entering into the country, the U.S. shifted its focus from Afghanistan to Iraq, which led to the resurgence of the Taliban. Currently, the U.S., under the Obama administration, has developed a new strategic plan in which troops are “to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the …show more content…
The question, “Does great openness threaten national security?”, has been the topic at hand. The website WikiLeaks intensified the discussion with the released of thousands of classified government documents and military intelligence. Julian Assange, an Australian computer hacker, created the biggest United States security breach to ever hit the nation. Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, worked alongside a group of associates across several countries in releasing thousands of government documents. It is believed that his source may have been United States army private, Bradley Manning, who had access to these classified government documents and databases. Assange has yet to be prosecuted for the leaking of government information but the most likely approach to prosecuting him would be under the Espionage Act of 1917. The Act prohibits the “willful” disclosure of “information relating to the national defense.” It has been interpreted to mean that the defendant must know the information will hurt national security and that disclosure violates the law (Government Secrecy, 127). The discussion of updating the Espionage Act of 1917 has been of discussion because of this leak as well as ones of a smaller magnitude. Abbe Lowell of the White-Collar Criminal Defense Group of McDermont Will & Emory is for the updating of the Espionage Act of 1917. According to Lowell, the document is not specific enough and as worded can be lead to the infringement of the first
W0443814
Assignment 9
Afghanistan Dilemma Following the September 11 terror attacks, the U.S. sent thousands of troops to Afghanistan to pursue the al Qaeda terrorists who plotted the terror attacks. Almost 10 years ago, the U.S. sent troops to the Central Asian country in order to protect the U.S. after Osama Bin Laden declared war on the United States. Within a year of entering into the country, the U.S. shifted its focus from Afghanistan to Iraq, which led to the resurgence of the Taliban. Currently, the U.S., under the Obama administration, has developed a new strategic plan in which troops are “to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al Qaeda in Pakistan and Afghanistan, and to prevent their return to either country in the …show more content…
The question, “Does great openness threaten national security?”, has been the topic at hand. The website WikiLeaks intensified the discussion with the released of thousands of classified government documents and military intelligence. Julian Assange, an Australian computer hacker, created the biggest United States security breach to ever hit the nation. Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks, worked alongside a group of associates across several countries in releasing thousands of government documents. It is believed that his source may have been United States army private, Bradley Manning, who had access to these classified government documents and databases. Assange has yet to be prosecuted for the leaking of government information but the most likely approach to prosecuting him would be under the Espionage Act of 1917. The Act prohibits the “willful” disclosure of “information relating to the national defense.” It has been interpreted to mean that the defendant must know the information will hurt national security and that disclosure violates the law (Government Secrecy, 127). The discussion of updating the Espionage Act of 1917 has been of discussion because of this leak as well as ones of a smaller magnitude. Abbe Lowell of the White-Collar Criminal Defense Group of McDermont Will & Emory is for the updating of the Espionage Act of 1917. According to Lowell, the document is not specific enough and as worded can be lead to the infringement of the first