[Author][Professor][Subject][Date of Submission]
In the movie, “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” it chronicles the espionage system of the American government and its dark truths. Steve Rogers who is one of the main characters of the movie works for the espionage agency of Washington D.C. which is called S.H.I.E.L.D. with Fury. They work on the anti-terrorism acts to secure the security of the country and of the world. That was what they know of until they were drawn into the deeper secrets of the agency by mining data from a vessel full of hostages and mercenaries. The data they mined together with Romanoff set the life of Fury in danger. The data was left in the hands of Rogers who kept it safe. In return he was declared a fugitive by the S.H.I.E.L.D. They knew from the data that since the end of the World War II, America set up Hydra who is responsible for mining data from all over the world and creating terrors for the countries to give up their freedom for the sake of security.
The movie dealt with the deep issues of the war on terror that is happening in the real world. It mirrors how America since the end of Cold War behaved. The country has been allotting most of its budget for security that includes espionage through the internet. The said realities were however appeared to public through conspiracy theories and from the brave whistle blowers. The case of Snowden is an example of how the lives of every person around the world can be monitored through a surveillance system. The leak from Snowden was met by critics that the National Security Council (NSA) of America is violating the rights of people to privacy. He said after giving the volumes of documents to the media that America is amassing data from other peoples to use it to their advantage. This is similar to the movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier because the meat of the story is how America’s top secret security agency mined data from all over the world to be able to use it for the country’s advantage. It is for their security and business advantage regardless if can harm thousands of people.
In the name of national security, the Barrack Obama administration launched a drone attack in Yemen in 2011. The strike caused the deaths of many including American citizens. The civil society was raging because of the unprecedented drone strike. The Obama administration however justified the killings. Obama said that the American citizens who were killed in the drone strikes were implicated to the Al-Qaeda. Al-Qaeda is one of the groups that the American government through the CIA as most wanted terrorists. In his speech, Obama did not even bat an eyelash when he said that America will not spare any person including its citizens who pose threats to their national security. The response of Obama reflects the story in the movie where even the agents are subjected to killing once it is knowledgeable to the dark systems of the security agency.
Conspiracy theories have shown disturbing connections of why America is so obsessed with national security to the point of sacrificing thousands of lives everywhere. It launched drone attacks not only in Yemen but to all countries where they have sightings of what they call “terrorists”. The CIA supported the Israeli soldiers in its lynch mobs against Palestine. In the name of security, they created secret prison cells in some countries including Lithuania where they interrogate and torture people to amassed information. In the name of security, America has committed sins against humanity.
Works Cited
Gellman, Barton. “Edward Snowden, after months of NSA revelations, says his mission’s accomplished.” National Security: The Washington Post, (23 Dec. 2013). Web. 19 No. 2014.
DeYoung, Karen & Horwitz, Sari. “U.S. to reveal justification for drone strikes against American citizens.” National Security: The Washington Post, (20 May 2014). Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
Whitlock, Craig. “Lithuania investigates possible CIA 'black site’.” World: The Washington Post, (19 Nov. 2009). Web. 19 Nov. 2014.
