Edward Snowden a ‘uniquely postmodern breed of whistle-blower’

Whistle-blower Edward Snowden gave an extensive interview to Wired magazine, speaking with author and journalist James Bamford over the course of three days in Moscow. The Russian capital is Snowden's home for the foreseeable future following the country's extension of asylum for the next three years.

Wired

The results of Bamford's time with Snowden, published Wednesday, are a fascinating look into the 31-year-old former National Security Agency contractor's deeply-held beliefs and his motivations in unearthing the secrets behind the United States' most controversial surveillance programs of our time. Snowden, who clutches an American flag on Wired's cover, wants us to know this: "I care more about the country than what happens to me." At the moment, the country he's referring to is still desperate to know his whereabouts, to bring him home and prosecute him.

As a former NSA employee himself, Bamford originally blew the whistle on the organization while in law school. He testified before the influential Church Committee, the oversight body that would become the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence and led to significant reforms of the intelligence apparatus in the 1970s. Bamford later went on to publish the first book about the NSA, titled "The Puzzle Palace," inciting several threats from the US government of prosecution under the Espionage Act, the very same 1917 law under which Snowden has been charged.

Revelations about the US's sprawling surveillance efforts continue to make their way to publications around the globe, thanks to Snowden's leaked trove of documents currently in the hands of journalist Glenn Greenwald and a small circle of fellow security and privacy reporters. Now, new reports are suggesting that there may be a second NSA leaker, either concurrent with Snowden or inspired by him. Still, the US government continues to grapple with the prospect of reining in its spying as public sentiment has tilted against the NSA -- and as Snowden has emerged, over time, less a traitor and more a symbol for keeping power in check.

Check out the full piece, which is highly recommended reading, over at Wired now. In the meantime, here's some of the fascinating insights from Bamford's interview with Snowden:

"I figured they would have a hard time. I didn't figure they would be completely incapable," Snowden said.

"I used to work for the government. Now I work for the public. Technology is the greatest equalizer in human history. It allows us to try on new faces, join new communities, engage in new conversations, and discover who we are and what we want to become.

Our generation is facing a time where governments around the world are questioning wether or not individuals can be trusted with the power of technology, be left to our own devices and use it creatively and not destructively.

And while I don't know the answer to that question, what I do know is that governments shouldn't be the one's to decide. We should. And what I did was not to benefit myself. I didn't ask for money. I gave this information back to public hands. The reason I did that was not to gain a label, but to give you back a choice about the country you want to live in."

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Edward Snowden a 'uniquely postmodern breed of whistle-blower'