(CNN) -- He's a high school dropout who worked his
way into the most secretive computers in U.S. intelligence as a defense
contractor -- only to blow those secrets wide open by spilling details of classified surveillance programs.
Now, Edward Snowden might never live in the United States as a free man again.
In an interview with the
British newspaper The Guardian, Snowden publicly revealed himself as the
source of documents outlining a massive effort by the U.S. National
Security Agency to track cell phone calls and monitor the e-mail and
Internet traffic of virtually all Americans.
Snowden, 29, said he just wanted the public to know what the government was doing.
"Even if you're not doing anything wrong you're being watched and recorded," he said.
Snowden told The Guardian
he had access to the full rosters of everyone working at the NSA, the
entire intelligence community and undercover assets around the world.
"I'm just another guy who
sits there day to day in the office, watching what's happening, and
goes, 'This is something that's not our place to decide.' The public
needs to decide whether these programs or policies are right or wrong,"
he said.
Snowden fled to Hong Kong three weeks ago after copying one last set of documents and telling his boss he needed to go away for medical treatment.
From Hawaii to hiding
Before his leak of U.S. intelligence, Snowden was living "in paradise."
He worked for a major
U.S. government contractor in Hawaii, earning a $200,000 salary and
enjoying the scenic state with his girlfriend.
He told The Guardian he
never received a high school diploma and didn't complete his computer
studies at a community college. Instead, he joined the Army in 2003 but
was discharged after breaking both legs in an accident.
Snowden said he later
worked as a security guard for the NSA and then took a computer security
job with the CIA. He left that job in 2009 and moved on to Booz Allen
Hamilton, where he worked as a contractor for the government in Hawaii.
He told The Guardian that he left for Hong Kong on May 20 without telling his family or his girlfriend what he planned.
"You're living in
Hawaii, in paradise and making a ton of money. What would it take to
make you leave everything behind?" he said in the Guardian interview.
"I'm willing to
sacrifice all of that because I can't in good conscience allow the U.S.
government to destroy privacy, Internet freedom and basic liberties for
people around the world with this massive surveillance machine they're
secretly building."
Some residents on Oahu island are glad Snowden left.
"From a Hawaii standpoint, good riddance, thanks for leaving," Ralph Cossa told CNN affiliate KHON.
"I'm sure the guy had an
overactive Mother Teresa gene and thought he was going to go out and
save America from Americans, but in reality he was very foolish," Cossa
said. "We expect the government to honor our privacy, but we also expect
our government to protect us from terrorist attacks."
The fallout
President Barack Obama
insists his administration is not spying on U.S. citizens -- rather,
it's only looking for information on terrorists.
Booz Allen Hamilton, the
government contractor that employed Snowden, issued a statement saying
Snowden had worked at the firm for less than three months.
"News reports that this
individual has claimed to have leaked classified information are
shocking, and if accurate, this action represents a grave violation of
the code of conduct and core values of our firm," the company said in the statement Sunday. The firm said it will cooperate with authorities in their investigation.
Snowden hopes Hong
Kong's climate of free speech will protect him, but there's no guarantee
he won't be arrested, taken to mainland China or sent back to the
United States.
But those potential consequence don't scare Snowden the most.
According to The
Guardian, the only time Snowden became emotional during hours of
interviews was when thought about what might happen to his relatives --
many of whom work for the U.S. government.
"The only thing I fear
is the harmful effects on my family, who I won't be able to help
anymore," he said. "That's what keeps me up at night."
As for his concerns
about his country, "the greatest fear that I have regarding the outcome
for America of these disclosures is that nothing will change."
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