The individual responsible for blowing the whistle on the National Security Agency's secret Internet surveillance program has come forward to reveal himself. 29-year-old Edward Snowden, a former technical assistant for the CIA and current employee of defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton, said he had no intention of hiding his identity because he knows he didn't do anything wrong.
In an interview with The Guardian from Hong Kong, Snowden noted that he understands he will be made to suffer for his actions but that he will be satisfied if the federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule over the world he loves are revealed if even for an instant. The sole motive, he said, was to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them.
Snowden was working for the NSA in Hawaii as recently as just a few weeks ago. It was there that he made copies of the secret NSA documents in preparation to take them public. With the copies in hand, he then flew to Hong Kong before making them public. He believes that the extradition process, at least an official one, will be more difficult from there.
The whistleblower said he hoped the Obama administration would turn reverse post-9/11 monitoring but in his own words, he said he watched as Obama advanced the same policies that he thought would be reined in.