“If any individual who objects to government policy can take it in his own hands to publicly disclose classified information, then we will never be able to keep our people safe or conduct foreign policy”. President Barack Obama
In April 2023, the Pentagon became aware of the leak of classified documents when a twenty-one-year-old low ranking Air National guardsman posted classified documents in a private chat room, Discord. Most of the documents deal with detailed analysis of the ongoing war in Ukraine and intelligence assessment of several adversaries as well as allies. The most intriguing documents relate to linkage of the Ukraine war with the Middle East and Israel’s efforts to involve the United States in operations targeting Iranian interests in the region.
There is history of controversial leaks of classified information in the United States. In 1971, the New York Times published a series of articles based on a leaked 7,000-page document called the Pentagon Papers. The papers, which had been commissioned by Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, revealed that the U.S. government had systematically lied to the public about the progress of the Vietnam War. In 2010, the organization WikiLeaks released a trove of classified documents related to the U.S. military’s operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The leak included diplomatic cables that revealed sensitive information about U.S. foreign policy. In 2013, a National Security Agency (NSA) civilian contractor Edward Snowden leaked classified documents to the press, revealing the extent of the U.S. government’s surveillance programs. The leak was controversial because it raised questions about the government’s surveillance practices and whether they violated Americans’ privacy rights. Snowden was charged with violating the Espionage Act and has been living in exile in Russia since the leak.
Intelligence leaks refer to the unauthorized disclosure of classified information from the intelligence community to individuals or organizations that are not authorized to receive it. Such leaks can expose illegal actions of a government or a security service organization resulting in oversight and accountability. On the other hand, intelligence leaks can have severe consequences for national security by exposing intelligence collection methods and sources. While some leaks may be driven by a desire to expose wrongdoing or promote transparency, they can also be motivated by personal or political agendas.
U.S. law protects a federal employee who acts as a whistleblower and exposes an illegal activity in his or her organization that is not being addressed by internal mechanisms. On the other hand, the Espionage Act of the United States and several other regulations govern the handling of classified information. This is taken seriously by the government and those caught in violating it are severely punished.
Intelligence leaks not only present unique challenges to governments and security agencies but also initiate public debate about government actions. Snowden’s case is a good example of these complexities. The program to collect billing information of phone records and a program to monitor internet traffic of foreigners code named PRISM was done according to the existing laws. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) established special courts that issue warrants for surveillance. In 2013, a FISA court judge issued a warrant ordering phone service provider Verizon to provide billing records of the ninety days to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that in turn asked its service provider NSA for this communication data. Verizon was complying with a court order that also required a written directive from both the Attorney General and the Director of National Intelligence. This activity also had an oversight safeguard of review by the Department of Justice (DOJ) every ninety days. If an American is suspected of being in contact with a foreign suspect, DOJ asks FISA court for a warrant to open an investigation against the American. After completing all these procedures, NSA runs the program filtering out domestic communications as required by law; the mass data collected included communication traffic of Americans. The real issue of public interest was unwarranted surveillance as well as authority of the FISA court to issue sweeping warrants that allowed bulk collection of information. Disclosing this information could be viewed as public service as it had an impact on the civil liberties of Americans.
However, Snowden also exposed U.S. intelligence operations against China and Russia that had no relevance to the privacy of the Americans. This revelation directly harmed U.S. national interests as American intelligence agencies are tasked by the government representing the will of the people to protect the country against the hostile activities of China and Russia, especially in the cyber domain. One of the most significant implications
of intelligence leaks is the potential damage to national security. Intelligence agencies are responsible for gathering and analyzing information that is critical to protecting the country from a range of threats, including terrorism, cyber-attacks, and foreign interference. When classified information is leaked, it can compromise ongoing investigations, reveal sensitive sources and methods, and provide adversaries with valuable insights into the capabilities and operations of intelligence agencies. This information can be used to disrupt ongoing intelligence operations or even launch attacks against the country or its allies.
Moreover, intelligence leaks can damage diplomatic relations between countries. The release of sensitive information can strain relations between allies, create tensions with adversaries, and even result in the expulsion of diplomats or other retaliatory measures. These diplomatic repercussions can have long-lasting effects on international relations and can make it more difficult for governments to cooperate on matters of mutual interest.
The challenge for governments and security agencies is to strike a balance between protecting national security and upholding the principles of transparency and accountability. While transparency is important for maintaining public trust, it cannot come at the expense of national security. At the same time, efforts to protect national security must be conducted in a manner that is consistent with the rule of law and the principles of democratic governance.
The issue of leaks is not a simple one. It has its negative and positive sides. An example of the negative consequence is the case of WikiLeaks. In 2010, WikiLeaks re
leased thousands of documents related to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as diplomatic cables that revealed candid assessments of foreign leaders and their policies. The release of the documents created controversy and strained diplomatic relations between the United States and several other countries. It had no impact on the privacy of Americans nor transgression on any legal or moral grounds.
An example of the positive impact of a leak is the Snowden affair. In 2013, Snowden leaked classified information to the media, revealing the extent of the NSA’s surveillance programs. The leaked information exposed the collection of phone and internet data from millions of Americans. Snowden’s leak triggered a public debate about the balance between national security and individual privacy and led to significant changes in government surveillance policies. The government had transgressed the existing laws and bringing this information in public domain forced the government to rectify its overreach.
The law evolves according to the changing circumstances and public concerns. In the aftermath of 11 September 2001 attacks on American soil, a fearful public gave leeway to the intelligence agencies. The criticism was that intelligence agencies failed to connect the ‘links’ or to find the proverbial ‘needles’ in the haystack. Rapidly advancing technology provided the tools to intelligence agencies. The USA Patriot Act provided the legal provision and NSA decided to ‘collect the whole haystack’. Later, the court ruled that it was an overreach and Congress passed the USA Freedom Act that transferred this bulk storage from NSA to telephone companies that could be accessed through a FISA warrant. Advances in communication technology have enhanced the capabilities of intelligence agencies
to monitor every aspect of life. However, running a large complex system that employs tens of thousands of government employees and civilian contractors increases the risk of leaking classified information. A Single of Point of Failure (SPOF) is a part of a system that, if it fails, will stop the entire system from working. A low-ranking system administrator whose job requires access to multiple facets of the system can cause enormous damage if he decides to leak information. This had happened in the case of Snowden. CIA Deputy Director Michael Morell commenting on the Snowden affair highlights the dilemma of vulnerability that “The NSA – the world’s most capable signals intelligence organization, an agency immensely skilled in stealing digital data – had its pockets thoroughly picked”.
In my view, with adequate protection of oversight from FISA, DOJ and independent Inspector Generals, exposure by Snowden of three programs run by NSA seriously undermined the capability of intelligence agencies. These three included Program 215, that allowed storage of telephone billing records in a database to be rapidly accessed during investigation of an emerging threat, PRISM or Program 702, that allowed NSA to access internet traffic of suspects before its encryption and Program XKeyscore that allowed NSA to create ‘digital fingerprints’ of suspected foreign terrorists making it difficult for suspects to hide on internet by using aliases.
In conclusion, intelligence leaks in some cases enhance transparency and accountability of the government but on the other hand can pose serious threat to national security by constraining activities of intelligence agencies. While efforts to promote transparency and accountability are important, they must be balanced with the need to protect sensitive information and safeguard
national security. There will always be disagreement between practitioners of national security and advocates of civil liberties about where that line should be drawn. Such debate should be encouraged to formulate policies that have approval from a large segment of population, providing tools for successful management of intelligence operations and at the same time ensure oversight and accountability to prevent abuse of this trust of the citizens.
“People, I am actually fairly smart. Why has this not occurred to anyone? The information is all out there, if you go looking for it, and the classified stuff just comes from analyzing the unclassified stuff and connecting the dots.” Tom Clancy
Selected Readings
• Edward Jay Epstein. How America Lost Its Secrets: Edward Snowden, The Man, and the Theft (New York: Borzoi Books), 2017
• Florina C. Matei & Carolyn Halladay (Editors). The Conduct of Intelligence in Democracies: Processes, Practice, Culture (Boulder, Colorado: Lynn Rienner), 2019
• Michael V. Hayden. Playing to the Edge (New York: Penguin Press), 2016
• James R. Clapper. Facts and Fears (New York: Viking), 2018
• “When Top Secret is not so secret”. The New York Times, 13 April 2023 https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/13/us/politics/documents-leak-security-clearance.html
• Leaked Pentagon document shows how Ukraine war is bleeding into the Middle East. https://theintercept.com/2023/04/13/leaked-pentagon-document-ukraine-iran-war/
Note: This essay was written with the assistance of artificial intelligence software.
