SCHOOL THESIS

eturn. 65 Likewise, Glen Greenwald depicts Snowden as a hero for courageously
informing the public about government secrecy. He observes,
Often, whistle-blowers like Snowden are demonized as loners or losers,
acting not out of conscience but alienation and frustration at a failed life.
Snowden was the opposite; he had a life filled with the things people view
as most valuable. His decision to leak the documents meant giving up a
long-term girlfriend who he loved, a life in the paradise of Hawaii, a
supportive family, a stable career, a lucrative paycheck, a life ahead full of
possibilities of every type. 66
On the other hand, General Mike Hayden believes Snowden is “a troubled young man—
morally arrogant to a tremendous degree—but a troubled young man.” 67 Hayden went on
to predict Snowden would end up like other defectors to Russia: “Isolated, bored, lonely,
depressed—and most of them ended up alcoholics.” 68
E. SECURITY CLEARANCE PROGRAM CONCERNS
While not an issue of unauthorized disclosure, the Navy Yard shooting has
exposed flaws in the security clearance process that are becoming increasingly evident.
Issa, the Chairman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, calls to attention that the
largely automated process of background investigations have sacrificed thoroughness for
speed and as a result, it does not catch all pertinent information. Aaron Alexis, despite a
history of questionable conduct over several years, was able to secure and maintain a
security clearance. 69 Issa recommends that investigators should use the Internet and
social media sources to increase the “whole person” investigation, that mental health
records should be screened, and that Congress should consider measures to require local
65 Luke Harding, The Snowden Files: The inside Story of the World’s Most Wanted Man (New York:
Vintage Books, 2014).
66 Glen Greenwald, No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State
(New York: Metropolitan Books, 2014), 47.
67 Abby Ohlheiser, “That Time Edward Snowden and Gen. Michael Hayden Took a Photo Together—
Wearing Smiles and Tuxedos,” Washington Post, August 13, 2014.
68 Ibid.
69 Slipping Through the Cracks: How the D.C. Navy Yard Shooting Exposes Flaws in the Federal
Security Clearance Process, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 113 th Cong. (2014)
(statement of Darrell Issa, Chairman), http://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Aaron-
Alexis-Report-FINAL.pdf
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