Critical Thinking Paper- NSA SurveillanceWilla MurphyRed Group5/4/14

Outline

The Problem/Solution Essay Include Thesis Statement, Topic Sentences, and Sources in this Outline.Paragraph 1 Since the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in 2001, concerns over national security have heightened. The National Security Agency, or NSA, must halt their invasion of privacy immediately and find a more effective way of fighting the war on terror because the broad and extensive intake of data is too large to properly administer to, the threat from terrorism in America does not justify violating basic Constitutional rights, and surveillance programs have failed to stop recent attacks on the American public.Sources: Bergen, Peter. "Would NSA Surveillance Have Stopped 9/11 Plot?" CNN. Cable News Network, 31 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. . Van Buren, Peter. "10 Myths About NSA Surveillance That Need Debunking." Mother Jones. Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress, 13 Jan. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. .

Paragraphs 2-3Paragraph 2: The shock from Al Qaedas attack resulted in a new wave of legislation in order to protect Americans from terrorism. Sources "Reaction to 9/11." History Network. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. . Currier, Cora, Justin Elliott, and Theodoric Meyer. "Mass Surveillance in America: A Timeline of Loosening Laws and Practices." Pro Publica: Journalism in the Public Interest. Pro Publica, 7 June 2013. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. . "Edward Snowden Biography." Bio. True Story. A+E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. .

Paragraph 3: A main argument for continued NSA surveillance is that if the organization stops their work, another attack like 9/11 is possible.Sources Bergen, Peter. "Would NSA Surveillance Have Stopped 9/11 Plot?" CNN. Cable News Network, 31 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. . Cohen, Tom, Jim Acosta, and Mariano Castillo. "Despite Obama's NSA Changes, Phone Records Still Collected." CNN Politics. Cable News Network, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. . Stray, Jonathan. "FAQ: What You Need to Know about the NSAs Surveillance Programs." Pro Publica: Journalism in the Public Interest. Pro Publica, 27 June 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. .

Paragraphs 4 Currently in the United States, metadata is being collected so extensively that the information the government possesses is of little use.Sources Ball, James. "NSA Collects Millions of Text Messages Daily in 'Untargeted' Global Sweep." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 16 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. . Mears, Bill, and Halimah Abdullah. "What Is the FISA Court?" CNN Politics. Cable News Network, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. . Stray, Jonathan. "FAQ: What You Need to Know about the NSAs Surveillance Programs." Pro Publica: Journalism in the Public Interest. Pro Publica, 27 June 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. .

Paragraphs 5-6Paragraph 5: There are several effective alternatives to NSA surveillance.Sources Van Buren, Peter. "10 Myths About NSA Surveillance That Need Debunking." Mother Jones. Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress, 13 Jan. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. . Moody, Glyn. "Is There Any Alternative to the NSA's 'Take It All' Approach?" TechDirt. Floor64, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. . Isikoff, Michael. "NSA Program Stopped No Terror Attacks, Says White House Panel Member." NBC News. N.p., 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. .Paragraph 6: On March 27, 2014, President Obama suggested several changes to current surveillance programs.Sources Nakashima, Ellen. "White House Pushes Congress to Quickly Pass Changes to NSA Data Collection Program." The Washington Post. N.p., 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. .

Paragraphs 7 Following Edward Snowdens revelations concerning government spying programs, American businesses credibility declined, programs that could help internet safety halted, and relationships with U.S. allies became tense.Sources: Clayton, Mark. "Five Overlooked Costs of the NSA Surveillance Flap." Security Watch: Insight and Foresight from the Global Frontlines. Christian Science Monitor, 12 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. .

Paragraphs 8 The tragedy of the September 11 attacks prompted serious concerns for United States security, and many Americans were eager for a change that would create a safer country, one that would eliminate the threat of terrorist attacks.Sources: Ball, James. "NSA Collects Millions of Text Messages Daily in 'Untargeted' Global Sweep." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 16 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. . "Edward Snowden Biography." Bio. True Story. A+E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. .

Since the terrorist attack on the Twin Towers in 2001, concerns over national security have heightened. In order to address these concerns, organizations such as the National Security Agency have increased monitoring the American public and other countries that pose a potential threat to Americans safety. However, these methods have not been entirely successful. The National Security Agency, or NSA, must halt their invasion of privacy immediately and find a more effective way of fighting the war on terror because the broad and extensive intake of data is too large to process, the threat from terrorism in America does not justify violating basic Constitutional rights, and surveillance programs have failed to stop recent attacks on the American public (Van Buren 4-12) (Bergen 1-4).The shock from Al Qaedas attack resulted in a new wave of legislation in order to protect Americans from terrorism. The United Nations called for member countries to redouble their efforts in the war against terror (Reaction to 9/11 1-5). In September of 2001, Congress passed a $40 billion relief bill and the next year, Bush signed into effect the USA Patriot Act, which made immigration laws more rigid and increased domestic surveillance activities. In December of 2005, The New York Times revealed that the NSA had monitored the emails and phone activity of hundreds of people in the United States without warrants (Roller 1-3). In 2006, USA Today released that the NSA had been collecting phone records through Verizon, AT&T, and BellSouth, once again without permission. In the years following, Congress passed many bills that expanded the power of the NSA and allowed it to attain blanket surveillance if the organization could prove they were not targeting specific individuals because of religious belief, ethnicity, etc. (Mears et.al 1-2). The American public became more acutely aware of the extent of NSA surveillance on June 6th, when the Washington Times published Edward Snowdens leaked information on PRISM, the NSA program that serves primarily to collect information about American citizens. In May of 2013, Snowden, who had an information-technology job at the Central Intelligence Agency, began compiling data that contained classified information about NSA surveillance methods, including documents outlying spying on millions of civilians under PRISM (Currier et.al 1-13). Said Snowden, after fleeing to Hong Kong, I [couldnt] in good conscience allow the U.S. government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties with this massive surveillance machine they're secretly building (Edward Snowden Biography 1-2 ). This release of data spurred massive debate concerning NSA surveillance as many U.S. media outlets began to investigate this organizations methods and discover how effective the NSA truly was. A main argument for continued NSA surveillance is if the organization stops their work, another attack like 9/11 is possible. Said General Keith Alexander, Director of the National Security Agency, in a recent House Intelligence Committee about the 2001 attacks, We couldnt connect the dots because we didnt have the dots (Bergen 1). The General proceeded to say that metadata was the only method of connecting the dots, and that not using this valuable information is an unacceptable risk to [America] (Opening Remarks of General Keith Alexander, Director of the National Security Agency 1-2). According to Peter Bergen, CNNs National Security Analyst, 9/11 was caused not by the failure to obtain data but the failure to properly share the information the CIA already had. Previous to the attack, the CIA failed to watch-list several suspected Al Qaeda terrorists who entered the country and in August, when they finally issued a routine investigation, it was too late to stop the men who flew the plane into the Pentagon. Furthermore, Bush administration officials ignored several CIA messages regarding Bin Laden planning a potential attack on America. Former FBI Director Robert Mueller said before the House Judiciary Committee in 2013 that having access to telephone of records might have prevented 9/11, and several Obama administration officials use the failure to detect two terrorists living in the United States as a reason to continue NSA surveillance. Bergen believes otherwise, writing, The key problem was one of information sharing, not the lack of information (Bergen 2-3). Without using metadata, or the information collected when citizens use technology, it was possible to stop these two men known to be involved in Al Qaeda (A Guardian Guide to Your Metadata 1). The little information the government had before 9/11 they were not able to properly share and utilize, and the thousands of phone calls, emails, etc. they now have is too overwhelming to be used to stop terrorist activity (Stray 1-2).Currently in the United States, metadata is being collected so extensively that the information the government possesses is of little use. The NSA collects over 1,600,000 border crossings from network roaming alerts, upwards of 800,000 financial transactions, and nearly 200,000,000 text messages daily (Ball 1-2). Having call locations or text messages stored does not mean the NSA is targeting a specific person. The FISA Court, or the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, must first grant special requests for wiretapping, data analysis, and other monitoring for foreign intelligence purposes of suspected terrorists and spies operating in the United States (Mears et.al 1-2) If the NSA receives permission from the court, then they can officially track the targets activities. While this should narrow down the amount of data significantly, analysts typically have a two or three hops out rule, meaning they can examine friends of friends of friends of the target. If one of these contacts is found a potential target, it starts again, allowing thousands or millions of people to be examined because of a single suspect; moreover, of the 1,856 applications in 2012 to the FISA Court for electronic surveillance and physical searches for "foreign intelligence purposes, only a few hundred were modified, and none were denied (Ball 1-2) (Mears et.al 1-2) (Stray 1-4). This broad collection of data, though slightly narrowed down by FISA Court approvals, is an ineffective way of eliminating the threat of terrorism in the United States. Though 9/11 was a disaster, it cannot be repeatedly used to justify the collecting of billions of phone records, and the argument that the U.S. has stayed safe is simply false causality (Van Buren 3-4). There are several effective alternatives to NSA surveillance. The two best options focus on making the amount of searching proportional to the threat of terrorism in the United States. The chances of an American citizen, whether in America or the Middle East, being killed by a terrorist, are one in twenty million. When a member of the White House review panel on NSA surveillance searched for evidence that surveillance had stopped any potential terrorist attacks, he reported We found none, and said that the mass collection of phone information was a logical problem (Isikoff 1-2). A better method of identifying threats would be similar to the,4.5 million European Union-funded research [program] called Emphasis, which consists of sewer systems equipped with chemical sensors that would sound an alarm and send a location to a nearby police team when it detects explosives (Moody 1). Such a program targets a specific threat, rather than collecting vast amounts of data in hopes of finding a hint to a potential terrorist threat; in addition, Emphasis would allow police to locate actual bomb-making facilities instead of people who may know about it. With this system, using metadata would be the exception, and America would be safer. Emphasis is an example of a program that would completely alter the current system, but a recent proposal by President Obama makes small changes to the system yet is equally effective.On March 27, 2014, President Obama suggested several changes to current surveillance programs. The President called on Congress to end the mass collection of metadata in response to many Americans concern that officials might abuse the hundreds of billions of records about Americans phone calls (Nakashima 1). Other key component of Obamas plan is to make better use of the FISA Court. To collect information about certain people, FISA Court must first give permission, but, unlike before, the court would approve requests for certain people, not simply allowing the government to monitor citizens in general. The proposal also includes limiting query results to two hops away from a target and not holding call records any longer than phone companies would. This plan is made mostly to limit the pool of suspects so that it will be easier to identify potential threats (Nakashima 1-2). It is essential for the U.S. government to change NSA surveillance programs, or there will be serious repercussions.Following Edward Snowdens revelations concerning government spying programs, American businesses credibility declined, programs that could help internet safety halted, and relationships with U.S. allies became tense. American technology industries continue to lose their credibility, especially in Europe, where the cloud-computing industry is rapidly growing and many U.S. businesses are portrayed as unsafe and weak by European corporations who are steadily gaining an advantage in the market because of surveillance policies in the America.Meanwhile, cyber defense plans, which are often created by the NSA, have been halted for fear of once again giving the agency too much power and generating more public criticism. One defense system called for the NSA to sift through massive streams of data entering the US through fiber-optic lines for malicious software, using technology similar to that the agency currently uses in its cyber surveillance program (Clayton 4). The cyber shield, despite how much potential it had, has no chance of moving ahead. Longtime U.S. allies have also become wary and less eager to help the United States once they found out the government had been monitoring political leaders in Germany, France, and Spain. Government attempts to stop Chinas cyber-espionage have been, lost in the noise around Snowden, according to Chris Finan, a former Obama administration official (Clayton 1-3). A new system is necessary for healing our relationships with other countries. The tragedy of the September 11 attacks prompted serious concerns for United States security, and many Americans were eager for a change that would create a safer country, one that would eliminate the threat of terrorist attacks. As a result of this strong desire for change, the NSA was given too much power (Reaction to 9/11 1). When the agencys work, previously veiled in secrecy, was exposed by Edward Snowden, many Americans were shocked at the mass surveillance, and in the following years, there have been countless calls for reform (Edward Snowden Biography 1-2). The government has collected millions of phone records, text messages, etc. to the point where the massive amount of metadata is useless in eliminating the terrorist threat. To heal relationships with other countries, which have been damaged because of revelations concerning government spying, the National Security Agency must limit their intake of data, making it proportionate to the threat of terrorism, and create improvements to the program that allow it to effectively combat terrorism.

Works CitedBall, James. "NSA Collects Millions of Text Messages Daily in 'Untargeted' Global Sweep." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 16 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. .Bergen, Peter. "Would NSA Surveillance Have Stopped 9/11 Plot?" CNN. Cable News Network, 31 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. .Clayton, Mark. "Five Overlooked Costs of the NSA Surveillance Flap." Security Watch: Insight and Foresight from the Global Frontlines. Christian Science Monitor, 12 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. .Currier, Cora, Justin Elliott, and Theodoric Meyer. "Mass Surveillance in America: A Timeline of Loosening Laws and Practices." Pro Publica: Journalism in the Public Interest. Pro Publica, 7 June 2013. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. ."Edward Snowden Biography." Bio. True Story. A+E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. ."A Guardian Guide to Your Metadata." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 12 June 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014.Isikoff, Michael. "NSA Program Stopped No Terror Attacks, Says White House Panel Member." NBC News. N.p., 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. .Mears, Bill, and Halimah Abdullah. "What Is the FISA Court?" CNN Politics. Cable News Network, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. .Moody, Glyn. "Is There Any Alternative to the NSA's 'Take It All' Approach?" TechDirt. Floor 64, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. .Nakashima, Ellen. "White House Pushes Congress to Quickly Pass Changes to NSA Data Collection Program." The Washington Post. N.p., 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. ."Opening Remarks of General Keith Alexander, Director of the National Security Agency." IC on the Record. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. ."Reaction to 9/11." History Network. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. .Roller, Emma. "What Section 215 of the Patriot Act Does." Slate. Slate Group, 7 June 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014.Stray, Jonathan. "FAQ: What You Need to Know about the NSAs Surveillance Programs." Pro Publica: Journalism in the Public Interest. Pro Publica, 27 June 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. .Van Buren, Peter. "10 Myths About NSA Surveillance That Need Debunking." Mother Jones. Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress, 13 Jan. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. .

BibliographyBall, James. "NSA Collects Millions of Text Messages Daily in 'Untargeted' Global Sweep." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 16 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. .In Balls article, he answered the question, How much does the NSA collect?. This is an accurate source because Balls piece was published in the newspaper The Guardian, a reputable paper that writes news not only in America but also in the U.K.Bergen, Peter. "Would NSA Surveillance Have Stopped 9/11 Plot?" CNN. Cable News Network, 31 Dec. 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. .This website helped support one of the main arguments in the paper, which was even with the simplest tools, the government theoretically could have stopped 9/11. With all the extra information, it would still be next to impossible to prevent such a disaster, because there is too much there.Clayton, Mark. "Five Overlooked Costs of the NSA Surveillance Flap." Security Watch: Insight and Foresight from the Global Frontlines. Christian Science Monitor, 12 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. .Claytons article helped identify the repercussions of the faulty system the government currently has, and said that the system is not only causing distrust among American citizens but also is hurting relationships with other countries. This source directly addressed the problem and the faults in it, which helped form my argument. Cohen, Tom, Jim Acosta, and Mariano Castillo. "Despite Obama's NSA Changes, Phone Records Still Collected." CNN Politics. Cable News Network, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. .This site provided basic background and showed what happened in the transition from Bushs presidency to Obamas concerning NSA surveillance. It was a good point to work off of and was very informative. Currier, Cora, Justin Elliott, and Theodoric Meyer. "Mass Surveillance in America: A Timeline of Loosening Laws and Practices." Pro Publica: Journalism in the Public Interest. Pro Publica, 7 June 2013. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. .This website gave the best background leading up to the present day. It talked about Edward Snowden and gave an introduction to the controversial laws surrounding surveillance. "Edward Snowden Biography." Bio. True Story. A+E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. .This website talked about Edward Snowden and what happened because of his revelations. It provided a good explanation of how much the average American knew before Snowden leaked the information. "A Guardian Guide to Your Metadata." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 12 June 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. .A Guardian Guide to Your Metadata outlined what metadata was and how it was important to understanding U.S. surveillance policies. It was helpful because it broke down the concept to make it simple and understandable.Isikoff, Michael. "NSA Program Stopped No Terror Attacks, Says White House Panel Member." NBC News. N.p., 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. .This website had several useful quotes and backed the arguments in the paper. It showed that even White House officials were confused as to how efficient the NSA was.Mears, Bill, and Halimah Abdullah. "What Is the FISA Court?" CNN Politics. Cable News Network, 17 Jan. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. .This was a key article because it showed how the FISA Court goes against the Constitution. The website outlines what the Court does and what part it plays in allowing the government to target certain people."Mission." The NSA/CSS Mission. N.p., 15 Jan. 2009. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. .This is the official NSA/CSS Mission website, and talked about what the goal of the NSA was. The website was biased, but it provided background for the paper.Moody, Glyn. "Is There Any Alternative to the NSA's 'Take It All' Approach?" TechDirt. Floor 64, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. .Moodys article showed alternatives to the current system and talked about how the government might go about changing policies and how it could become more efficient.Nakashima, Ellen. "White House Pushes Congress to Quickly Pass Changes to NSA Data Collection Program." The Washington Post. N.p., 27 Mar. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2014. .Nakashimas summary of the changes Obama is attempting to make was very helpful, especially because the article was published extremely recently, so it was relevant."Opening Remarks of General Keith Alexander, Director of the National Security Agency." IC on the Record. Office of the Director of National Intelligence, n.d. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. .This was an article that was pro-collection of metadata and was a primary source, which was helpful because it contained good quotes. It also provided a different perspective than the other websites. "Reaction to 9/11." History Network. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014. .This website offered a good summary of why there was such a rush to stop terrorism after 9/11. It had background information as well as thorough explanations about what followed the disaster. Roller, Emma. "What Section 215 of the Patriot Act Does." Slate. Slate Group, 7 June 2013. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. .Rollers article talked about one of the most controversial laws: The Patriot Act, and why Section 215 has been used to justify current surveillance programs. The website gave detailed information about the Patriot Act, which was early in Bushs administration and how it has changed with Obama. It also talks about metadata and how it is collected.Soltani, Ashkan, and Barton Gellman. "New Documents Show How the NSA Infers Relationships Based on Mobile Location Data." The Washington Post. N.p., 10 Dec. 2013. Web. 24 Mar. 2014. .This article talked about what kind of information the government was collecting and how it could tell where someone was based on their recent phone activity. It also provided information as to how the government collected metadata.Stray, Jonathan. "FAQ: What You Need to Know about the NSAs Surveillance Programs." Pro Publica: Journalism in the Public Interest. Pro Publica, 27 June 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2014. .Strays article talks outlines the basics of NSA surveillance, including what metadata is, how it is attained, who it is collected from, and why it is collected. Van Buren, Peter. "10 Myths About NSA Surveillance That Need Debunking." Mother Jones. Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress, 13 Jan. 2014. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. .This was an extremely helpful website that backed all anti-surveillance articles in the paper. The writer explained why surveillance programs seem to be working and what is actually happening. While it was very biased, it showed why people might be for government spying.