NSA Whistle-blower Faces Jail if Extradited—is He a "hero or a traitor"?

Aimee Herd : Jun 10, 2013
FOXNews.com

"My sole motive is to inform the public as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them." -Edward Snowden

The man who informed the world, last week, of the US government's collection of phone records and internet activities, is reportedly taking refuge in Hong Kong, since he has come forward with his identity and his reason for the bombshell leaks. (Photo: FOXNews.com)

Twenty-nine-year-old Edward Snowden, who formerly had worked with the CIA as a technical assistant, and had contracted work with the National Security Agency (NSA), blew the whistle on the government's surveillance programs, citing that two programs in particular were "wide open to abuse."

Snowden chose the UK publication the Guardian to reveal what he'd learned.

"My sole motive is to inform the public," Snowden told the Guardian, "as to that which is done in their name and that which is done against them."

In the note to the UK newspaper included with the revelatory documents, Snowden indicated that he knew he would be "made to suffer" for coming forward with the information, but that he would be satisfied if the "federation of secret law, unequal pardon and irresistible executive powers that rule the world that I love are revealed even for an instant."

While Snowden seeks refuge in Hong Kong, and has appealed for asylum to "any countries that believe in free speech and oppose the victimization of global privacy," the US government is working to extradite him back to America.