GRADE 11 WRITING ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

GRADE 11 WRITING ARGUMENTATIVE ESSAY

After reading the two articles about government security and spying, write an essay, in which you agree or disagree with the idea that national security is reinforced by government surveillance. Support your position with cited evidence from the text(s), and make sure you include a counterclaim (concession) in your argument.

BRAZIL'S PRESIDENT, IRATE OVER SPY REVELATIONS, RETRACTS STATE DINNER RSVP

By Tribune Washington, adapted by Newsela staff September 19, 2013

1

WASHINGTON ? The president of Brazil has canceled a state visit to Washington out of anger that the

National Security Agency had spied on her and other Brazilian officials, deepening a rift with the Obama

administration.

2

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Tuesday called off the high-profile visit that both governments had

planned for October 23. A White House spokesman sought to downplay the diplomatic snub by a key ally

and trading partner. He said the decision to indefinitely postpone the visit was mutual.

3

The White House said that Rousseff and President Barack Obama had agreed that the state visit would be

better staged when relations between the two nations were less tense. A state visit is an elaborate affair

with meetings and a formal dinner with toasts.

4

Obama "understands and regrets" the concern that disclosures about U.S. spying has generated in Brazil,

the statement said. "He is committed to working together with President Rousseff and her government in

diplomatic channels to move beyond this issue as a source of tension in our bilateral relationship."

A Harsh Statement, Apology Demanded

5

A statement from the Brazilian President's office was harsher. It noted a "lack of....explanations and

commitment to cease" spying for the cancellation.

6

"The illegal interception of communications data belonging to citizens, companies and members of the

Brazilian government are a grave matter, an assault on national sovereignty and individual rights, and are

incompatible with relations between friendly nations," the statement said.

7

Since July, Brazilian news organizations have carried three reports based on classified documents leaked

by Edward Snowden, a former systems administrator for the NSA. One indicated that the intelligence

agency had intercepted communications between Rousseff and her aides, among other senior officials.

8

Rousseff quickly denounced the eavesdropping. Her aides said then that she wanted an apology from

Obama and was reconsidering her invitation to Washington.

Failed Outreach From White House

9

Obama tried to head off the rebuke. At a meeting this month of the Group of 20 nations in Russia, he

added a meeting with Rousseff to his schedule and offered to address her concerns. National security

adviser Susan Rice met with her Brazilian counterpart last week.

10 But the outreach failed. On Monday, the two leaders spoke by phone. They agreed to delay the pomp and circumstance of a state visit so it would "not be overshadowed by a single bilateral issue, no matter how important or challenging the issue may be," the White House said.

11 The cancellation marks the second presidential visit scrapped because of fallout from Snowden's leak of secret surveillance documents to the news media.

12 Obama canceled a planned meeting in Mosow with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month after Putin offered Snowden temporary asylum. The two leaders met informally days later in St. Petersburg, however. Both governments have since worked together on a plan to disarm Syria of chemical weapons.

A Slap in The Face

13 The invitation to Rousseff was the only state visit the White House had planned this year. It was widely seen in Brazil as affirmation of its rising status on the international stage. But Rousseff appears to have calculated that reprimanding Washington over spying was more important for her domestic audience than a sit-down in the Oval Office.

14 "Slapping Obama in the face, standing up to the big neighbor in the North, will be much hyped here and could increase her popularity as she faces elections next year," said David Fleisher, a political scientist at the niversity of Brasilia. "It increases Brazil's standing in the world by saying we can stand up to the U.S. when they did something very nasty to us."

"The issue of spying would have dominated the Washington visit," said Peter Hakim. He is President Emeritus at the Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington think tank that focuses on relations with Latin America. "And Rousseff must have been nervous that something more could come out (from Sowden) before then."

15 A Brazilian government commission met Tuesday with officials at the Russian Embassy to explore the possibility of a visit to Russia to meet with Snowden. Rousseff also is promoting legislation that would require Google, Facebook and other technology companies to store data collected in Brazil on Brazilian soil. The companies would then have to submit it to Brazilian law. Rousseff plans to speak about spying next week at the United Nations.

16 The White House glossed over the downturn in relations, but the delay could affect U.S. businesses. Among the likely topics of discussion were a multibillion-dollar contract to sell Boeing aircraft, as well as access to oil fields for U.S. companies, said Carl Meacham, director of the American Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

17 "This signals a different kind of environment for the U.S.," said Meacham.

U.S. SPY SECRETS LEAKER TAKES FLIGHT TO MOSCOW. IS ECUADOR NEXT?

By Brad Dorfman June 25, 2013

18 The man who spilled the beans about the U.S. government's secret spy programs that gather data about people's telephone calls and Internet use is trying to keep his own secret from the government: Just where exactly is Edward Snowden?

19 Snowden's attempt to avoid facing criminal charges in the United States has become an international game of hide-and-seek, with the U.S. getting little help from Hong Kong and Russia.

20 U.S. authorities want to arrest Snowden on charges of espionage and theft and have canceled his passport. Snowden, 29, has received help fromWikiLeaks, the group that leaked the secrets of governments of many countries over the internet. WikiLeaks' leader, Julian Assange, has been living under asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London for a year, trying to avoid legal problems of his own.

Snowden Seeks Asylum In Ecuador

21 Assange faces arrest and extradition to Sweden to face a sexual assault investigation and possible extradition to the United States for an investigation into WikiLeaks, if he leaves the embassy. He has denied the sexual assault allegations.

22 With WikiLeaks' help, Snowden has also sought asylum in Ecuador.

23 "The WikiLeaks legal team and I are interested in preserving Mr. Snowden's rights and protecting him as a person. What is being done to Mr. Snowden and to Mr. Julian Assange -- for making or facilitating disclosures in the public interest -- is an assault against the people," WikiLeaks legal director Baltasar Garzon said.

24 On Friday, the United States said that it was seeking to extradite Snowden -- to legally bring him to the country to the face charges against him. U.S. officials have also canceled Snowden's passport, which would make it more difficult for him to travel between countries.

25 Snowden was in Hong Kong, where he had lived for a few weeks while disclosing the secret National Security Agency spy programs to the Guardian and The Washington Post.

26 His leaks sparked a worldwide debate over how far U.S. security officials could go to gather information to try to prevent terror attacks, and can that include monitoring the phone and Internet use of foreigners and its own citizens?

Hong Kong Lets Snowden Fly

27 To the Obama administration's chagrin, Hong Kong let Snowden fly to Russia on Sunday. Hong Kong authorities said they had asked the United States for more information about the request to extradite Snowden. Hong Kong said it could not legally stop him from leaving.

28 U.S. officials have expressed their displeasure with Hong Kong, a semi-autonomous Chinese territory, and with China itself. They said that they were answering Hong Kong's questions when Snowden left.

29 Once he arrived at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport, things became even more interesting. There is no direct flight from Moscow to Ecuador. Reports said that Snowden was taking a flight to Cuba on Monday.

30 The gate where the flight was boarding was mobbed by reporters and television cameras. Some went as far as to book seats on the flight. But Snowden never boarded the aircraft. The New York Times said that Snowden has not been seen publically, or photographed, since he arrived in Moscow.

31 Assange told reporters via telephone on Monday that Snowden was "healthy and safe," but would not say where he was.

Russia Playing Coy

32 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday said that Russia should turn Snowden over. "I would urge them to live by the standards of the law because that is in the interest of everybody," he said.

33 But Russian officials were playing coy. "Overall, we have no information about him," Russian President Vladimir Putin's press secretary told Reuters.

34 Ecuador confirmed that it has received Snowden's request for asylum. It said it will make a decision in due time, taking into account Ecuadorian and international law.

35 How can Snowden travel at all without a valid U.S. passport? Assange told the New York Times that WikiLeaks arranged for Ecuador to issue Snowden a "special refugee travel document" a week ago. The organization had expected that United States would file charges against Snowden. Whether the document will help Snowden obtain passage depends on the rules of the airline he chooses, Assange said.

U.S. Defends Domestic Spying

36 U.S. officials have defended the gathering of telephone and internet data. NSA director Keith Alexander said last week that the programs had helped stop more than 50 terror plots worldwide.

37 Assange said in a speech published over the weekend that the program shows that government secrecy is growing at the expense of personal privacy.

38 "The U.S. government is spying on each and every one of us, but it is Edward Snowden who is charged with espionage for tipping us off," he said.

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