In a stunning disclosure, a 29-year-old former CIA staffer has identified himself as the man behind the sensational revelations about the massive US government surveillance of people across the world that have painted the Obama administration into a corner.
The whistleblower is Edward Snowden, who says the sole motive for his actions has been to “protect basic liberties for people around the world”. Currently holed up in a Hong Kong hotel, Snowden says he is on the look-out for asylum from any country that believes in free speech and opposes the victimization of global privacy.
A high-school dropout who went on to become a tech specialist contracting for the National Security Agency (NSA), Snowden said in interviews to The Guardian and The Washington Post that he, if extradited to the US, could be prosecuted for treason.
At a time when the other whistleblower Bradley Manning is facing court-martial for the biggest leak of government and military documents in American history, Snowden said he fully expects the US government to attempt to use all its weight to punish him. “Yes, I could be rendered by the CIA. I could have people come after me. Or any of the third-party partners. They work closely with a number of other nations. Or they could pay off the Triads. Any of their agents or assets,” he said, but maintained: “I am not afraid, because this is the choice I’ve made.” But people supporting Snowden are calling a national hero and have already petitioned the White House for a full pardon “for any crimes he has committed or may have committed related to blowing the whistle on secret NSA surveillance programmes”.
Snowden, who has been working at the NSA for four years as an employee of various outside contractors including consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton, said he chose to reveal his identity, saying he had no intention of hiding “because I know I have done nothing wrong”.
“My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them,” he said. There was no immediate comment from the White House, but the Department of Justice said it is in the initial stages of an investigation.
In his interviews and a video posted on The Guardian website, Snowden has said that has had “a very comfortable life” that included a salary of roughly $200,000, a girlfriend with whom he shared a home in Hawaii, a stable career, and a family he loves. “I’m willing to sacrifice all of that because I can’t in good conscience allow the US government to destroy privacy, internet freedom and basic liberties for people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they’re secretly building,” he said.