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What role does classified information play in public safety and what are…
What role does classified information play in public safety and what are the ethical implications in terms of U.S. national security?
POTENTIAL SOURCES TO READ - Academic Source #1 "The Declassification Engine: What History Reveals About America's Top Secrets" By Matthew Connelly: Connelly unearths what information is hidden from the general public and why. He highlights how overclassification can make it impossible to protect vital information, and how classified laboratories and intelligence agencies have continued to grow unchecked.
POTENTIAL SOURCES TO VIEW #1 "United States of Secrets, Part One" By Frontline PBS: This documentary discusses surveillance in a post-9/11 world and how the government went to great lengths to hide it from the public. 9/11 is a pivotal event in American history and it greatly affected trust in government and reevaluating national security. Documentary
ONE VISUAL SOURCE I HAVE VIEWED #3 "Classified Documents Contained Top Secret Defense Information" By CBS News: This news clip discussed the importance of classified information being kept secret for the sake of national security. With Trump's poor handling of documents being strewn about his Mar-A-Lago home, alarms were raised and there were many risks posed by keeping them unsecured. This relates to my thesis topic because it is somewhat current compared to my other research and it is developing which means I can include new information as the trials go on. I found the content in this video especially interesting because it involved a person who once possessed a lot of power in government and most likely a high level of clearance. I am curious to see if the rule of law will affect Trump equally in trial compared to past betrayals of classified information. CBS News
POTENTIAL SOURCES TO READ - Academic Source #2 "Top Secret America: The Rise Of The New American Security State" By Dana Priest And William M. Arkin: This book details government organizations and private agencies that operate at the highest classification level. American security is a main theme and programs surrounding counterterrorism, intelligence, and homeland security are discussed. (Auraria Library)
POTENTIAL SOURCES TO VIEW #4 Photos from Trump's Mar-A-Lago home: I know this photo is small but if you zoom in, you can clearly see documents labeled "Top Secret" which should not be in Trump's possession at his home while he is not in office and under investigation. This photo more closely relates to recent events which could be investigated more as the Trump trials continue into March 2024. NPR.org
ONE ACADEMIC SOURCE I HAVE READ #1 "A Spy in Plain Sight" By Lis Wiehl: This book details how former FBI agent Robert Hanssen sold national security secrets to Russia for over twenty years. The ethical and moral implications of public safety, FBI, and government operations are discussed, ultimately relating back to how Hanssen's actions affected the entire country. Wiehl offers a unique viewpoint being the daughter of an FBI agent and a third generation federal-prosecutor believing in the honest and purposeful goal of safety for top-crime organizations. So far, I have enjoyed the book and taken a genuine interest to the content. This book could certainly be used for my thesis paper and I have already gathered a lot from the first chapters I have read. (Auraria Library)
ONE INFORMAL SOURCE I HAVE READ #2 "Is the U.S. government designating too many documents as 'classified'?" By Dave Davies: This news article details how information is being marked as classified more often than necessary; more specifically, at "three times every second." With this current system in place, it is nearly impossible to preserve all documents and keep a consistent history with past paper records. This is problematic because many documents will never be declassified and available for the public to view. This relates to my thesis topic because it seriously questions the ethics of withholding information from the public that might not have much of an impact in reality. Furthermore, technology has begun to play a role in declassifying information which contributes to a technological aspect of my topic. NPR.org
POTENTIAL SOURCES TO READ - Informal #1 "How Classified Information is Handled" By Charlie Savage (New York Times): This article details the levels of classification clearance and how certain sensitive information is handled. The safety implications on the general public are discussed as well as the legal basis surrounding censorship of documents. NYtimes.com
POTENTIAL SOURCES TO VIEW #3 "Reality" Directed by Tina Satter: This movie stars Sydney Sweeney who plays the role of Reality Winner who used to work as an intelligence contractor. One day, she is met at her home by two FBI agents who then question her about her involvement in leaking a classified document about the 2016 election and Russian interference. Reality
POTENTIAL SOURCES TO READ - Informal #2 "Higher Education and National Security: The Targeting of Sensitive, Proprietary, and Classified Information on Campuses of Higher Education" By FBI: This FBI-published document details awareness in the public surrounding national security issues and counterintelligence risks. More specifically, this book investigates the role of classification in higher education institutions with sensitive information and technology. FBI.gov
POTENTIAL SOURCES TO VIEW #2 "The Military Case for Sharing Knowledge" By Stanley McChrystal: This TED talk details how a formal General came to believe that keeping important information was misguided and counterproductive. General McChrystal offers a unique perspective as he fought Al Qaeda starting in 2003 and was surrounded by classified info and military documents. TED Talk
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