Obama Calls for Oversight of U.S. Spying

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright August 9, 2013
All Rights Reserved.                                      

             Calling for more oversight of the nation’s spying programs, President Barack Obama said former CIA employee and National Security Agency leaker 30-year-old Edward Snowden was not a patriot.  Known for understatements, Obama continues to deal with the fallout from Snowden’s June 9 leak to the U.K.’s Guradian newspaper, drawing attention to U.S. spying operations, ranging domestically all the way to the Kremlin and back again to the European Union.  Most embarrassing of all was Obama’s June 7 summit with China’s Xi Jinping in Palm Springs, asking for assurances that Beijing would end its U.S. spy operations.   Snowden’s disclosures sent shockwaves through global circles, making the U.S. look like the ultimate hypocrites for pointing fingers at foreign governments.  No matter how one views Snowden—either as a patriot or traitor—he embarrassed the White House.

             Snowden’s escape from Hawaii to Hong Kong around June 23 raised eyebrows about the incompetence of the CIA to capture a U.S. fugitive fleeing from the long arm of American justice.  When WikiLeaks’s folks help arrange his safe passage to Moscow’s Sheremetyvo airport, it further embarrassed U.S. authorities, realizing that an otherwise friendly U.N. Security Council colleague turned a cold shoulder to U.S. extradition requests.  White House officials retaliated, canceling a one-day summit planned before the Sept. 5-6 G20 economic conference in St. Petersburg.  Speaking at the White House about reforming the nation’s spying operations, Barack confirmed that Russia’s OK to Snowden’s asylum factored into the summit cancellation.   While there’s more needed to “recalibrate” relations with Moscow, the link between Snowden’s Russian asylum and summit cancellation is unmistakable.

             Insisting the Snowden is no “patriot,” Obama handed the NSA leaker exactly what he wanted canceling the summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.  What could be more satisfying to a subversive like Snowden than disrupting U.S. foreign policy?  While there’s much disinformation about Snowden’s motives for leaking classified information, the fact is that he broke his confidentiality agreements to NSA contractor Booz Allen Hamilton.  How and in what way Booz Allen Hamilton vetted a college drop-out like Snowden for a high-security job is anyone’s guess.  Raising questions about spying contractors, Obama should question why U.S. surveillance operations are contracted outside the NSA.  “It’s not enough for me as president to have confidence in these programs,” said Obama at White House press conference.  “The American people have to have confidence as well.”

             Developing confidence in government spying operations requires more than meeting First Amendment guidelines.  Trusting contractors with classified information is risky business, especially in today’s atmosphere where Mideast terrorists since Sept. 11 continue their best to retaliate against the United States. Balancing national security issues against civil liberties is only one part of assuring the American public that spy operations serve the nation’s interests.  If renegades or mercenaries like Snowden get hired by defense contractors, then the U.S. will continue to face security breaches.  Snowden’s handlers painted him as a “whistleblower,” when in fact his behavior had little to do with protecting ordinary citizens.  Holding U.S. secrets give unsavory characters like Snowden more ammo to blackmail governments into making political and financial concessions.

             Instead of debating lofty Constitutional issues, Obama should focus on the current contracting system that gave classified information to a garden-variety mole.  Suggesting that the NSA make as much information as possible public through its Web site compromises intelligence-gathering and U.S. national security.  Obama’s post-Snowden focus should be on reigning in NSA contractors that don’t properly vet employees.  Admitting that his decision to cancel the Moscow summit with Putin has at least something to do with Snowden’s asylum is disgraceful.  Summit meetings are attempts for past adversaries to build rapport, not assure outcomes by having all the details worked out in advance.  Talking about “calibrating” the relationship with Russia should have nothing to do with Snowden and everything to do with a host of common U.S.-Russian interests and geopolitical projects.

             Pretending that spying operations are not essential to U.S. national security ignores real dangers in today’s post-Sept. 11 world.  Instead of promising more oversight, the president should look seriously at the current contracting system that allows any Tom, Dick or Harry to hold classified information.  Hiring high school or college dropouts simply because they show computer “hacking” ability flagrantly disregards the important vetting process needed to determine who’s worthy on holding classified or protected information.  Allowing the Snowden debacle to undermine U.S.-Russian relations shows poor management of U.S. foreign policy.  Instead of taking a stand on such petty matters, the president—and country—would be far better off highlighting what went wrong, especially the idea that anyone commissioned with spying should work directly for the  U.S. government.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.