HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019535.jpg
1.7 MB
Extraction Summary
3
People
7
Organizations
2
Locations
2
Events
2
Relationships
2
Quotes
Document Information
Type:
Book manuscript page / congressional record
File Size:
1.7 MB
Summary
This document appears to be page 47 of a book manuscript (likely 'How America Lost Its Secrets' by Edward Jay Epstein, based on the filename ISBN) produced as part of a House Oversight Committee investigation. The text analyzes the psychological motivations of leakers, referencing Edward Shils' work on the 'torment of secrecy,' and details Edward Snowden's mindset and access levels at the NSA in 2012. It describes Snowden's SCI clearance and his rhetorical questioning of colleagues regarding the potential impact of leaking secret data.
People (3)
| Name | Role | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Edward Shils | Sociologist / Author |
Author of 'The Torment of Secrecy' (1956), cited regarding the psychology of secrecy.
|
| Edward Snowden | Subject / NSA Contractor |
Discussed regarding his views on government secrecy, his SCI clearance, and his preparations to leak documents.
|
| Julian Assange | Founder of WikiLeaks |
Mentioned in the context of WikiLeaks publishing classified documents which influenced Snowden.
|
Organizations (7)
| Name | Type | Context |
|---|---|---|
| FBI |
Government agency mentioned as holding secrets.
|
|
| CIA |
Government agency mentioned as holding secrets.
|
|
| NSA |
National Security Agency; employer of Snowden and target of his leaks.
|
|
| WikiLeaks |
Website publishing classified documents.
|
|
| State Department |
Source of classified documents leaked on WikiLeaks.
|
|
| U.S. Army |
Source of classified documents leaked on WikiLeaks.
|
|
| House Oversight Committee |
Implied by the footer 'HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019535'.
|
Timeline (2 events)
2012
Edward Snowden tested reactions to potential leaks while working at an NSA base.
NSA regional base
Edward Snowden
NSA Co-workers
Locations (2)
| Location | Context |
|---|---|
|
Location of NSA surveillance mentioned.
|
|
|
NSA regional base
|
Workplace of Snowden.
|
Relationships (2)
He had a SCI (sensitive compartmented information) clearance, a pass into an NSA regional base, and the privileges of a system administrator.
Snowden asked questions at a time when documents had been posted on Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks website.
Key Quotes (2)
"[The elites] know everything about us and we know nothing about them—because they are secret, they are privileged, and they are a separate class . . . the elite class, the political class, the resource class—we don’t know where they live, we don’t know what they do, we don’t know who their friends are."Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019535.jpg
Quote #1
"What do you think the public would do if this [secret data] was on the front page?"Source
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019535.jpg
Quote #2
Full Extracted Text
Complete text extracted from the document (2,541 characters)
Crossing the Rubicon | 47
has always been a core concern of radical Libertarians. In his 1956
book, The Torment of Secrecy: The Background and Consequences of
American Security Policies, the sociologist Edward Shils brilliantly
dissects the fascination with secrecy among individuals who fear that
government agencies will use covert machinations against them. In
Shils’s concept, this counterculture is “tormented” by the govern-
ment’s possession of knowledge unavailable to them. Members of
this culture tend to believe that the agencies that hold these secrets,
such as the FBI, the CIA, and the NSA, can control their lives; they
also believe that obtaining such secrets will give individuals power
over government.
book, The Torment of Secrecy: The Background and Consequences of
American Security Policies, the sociologist Edward Shils brilliantly
dissects the fascination with secrecy among individuals who fear that
government agencies will use covert machinations against them. In
Shils’s concept, this counterculture is “tormented” by the govern-
ment’s possession of knowledge unavailable to them. Members of
this culture tend to believe that the agencies that hold these secrets,
such as the FBI, the CIA, and the NSA, can control their lives; they
also believe that obtaining such secrets will give individuals power
over government.
Snowden himself was concerned with a coming “dark future,”
which he later described as follows: “[The elites] know everything
about us and we know nothing about them—because they are secret,
they are privileged, and they are a separate class . . . the elite class,
the political class, the resource class—we don’t know where they
live, we don’t know what they do, we don’t know who their friends
are. They have the ability to know all that about us. This is the direc-
tion of the future but I think there are changing possibilities in this.”
which he later described as follows: “[The elites] know everything
about us and we know nothing about them—because they are secret,
they are privileged, and they are a separate class . . . the elite class,
the political class, the resource class—we don’t know where they
live, we don’t know what they do, we don’t know who their friends
are. They have the ability to know all that about us. This is the direc-
tion of the future but I think there are changing possibilities in this.”
To change the “dark future,” someone would have to know the
secrets of the “elites.” Snowden saw himself as one of the few indi-
viduals in a position to seize state secrets from those elites. He had
a SCI (sensitive compartmented information) clearance, a pass into
an NSA regional base, and the privileges of a system administrator.
This position allowed him to steal state secrets and whatever power
that went with them. And if he moved to a position that gave him
greater access, he would, in this view, amass even greater power.
secrets of the “elites.” Snowden saw himself as one of the few indi-
viduals in a position to seize state secrets from those elites. He had
a SCI (sensitive compartmented information) clearance, a pass into
an NSA regional base, and the privileges of a system administrator.
This position allowed him to steal state secrets and whatever power
that went with them. And if he moved to a position that gave him
greater access, he would, in this view, amass even greater power.
Whatever his actual agenda in 2012, we know that he tested pos-
sible reactions to a leak exposing NSA surveillance in the United
States. He asked fellow workers at the NSA base in 2012, according
to his own account, “What do you think the public would do if this
[secret data] was on the front page?” He asked this question at a time
when a large number of State Department and U.S. Army classified
documents had been posted on Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks website.
These WikiLeaks revelations made, as Snowden knew they would,
front-page headlines. His “question” was only rhetorical. No covert
NSA document had ever been published in the press as of 2012. One
sible reactions to a leak exposing NSA surveillance in the United
States. He asked fellow workers at the NSA base in 2012, according
to his own account, “What do you think the public would do if this
[secret data] was on the front page?” He asked this question at a time
when a large number of State Department and U.S. Army classified
documents had been posted on Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks website.
These WikiLeaks revelations made, as Snowden knew they would,
front-page headlines. His “question” was only rhetorical. No covert
NSA document had ever been published in the press as of 2012. One
Epst_9780451494566_2p_all_r1.z.indd 47 9/29/16 5:51 PM
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019535
HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019535
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