Edward Snowden: whistleblower, fugitive, hero... traitor?

The story behind the ball and the complainant The Guardian

shot as a small black suitcase and wearing a selection of laptop bags on their shoulders, no one would have paid much attention to Ed Snowden on arrival at the airport Hong Kong International. But Snowden was not tourist or business. A total of four teams had allowed him access to some of the best secrets of classified U.S. government.

Today, a little more than three weeks later, he is the most famous spy in the world, the complainant and the fugitive head of the largest intelligence breach in recent history U.S.. News organizations around the world have described as "America's Most Wanted." Members of Congress have denounced as a "deserter" whose actions tantamount to treason and demanded to be punished to the full extent of the law.

His supporters say his actions have opened a debate on the necessary balance between security and privacy in the modern world.

This is the whistleblower or traitor? The debate still rages.

Snowden, 29, flew to Hong Kong from Hawaii, where he worked for defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton in the National Security Agency, the largest organization of spy surveillance world. Since Monday morning, went into hiding. Journalists based in Hong Kong, joined by the international press were looking for him. At the height of the research, recruited journalists Twitter followers to see if they could correctly identify the lighting and other hotel furniture that appear in the video that was made public. They did:. The $ 330-a-night Mira Hotel on Nathan Road, the main busy in Kowloon shopping street

Knowing it was only a matter of time before he is found, Snowden check out at noon on Monday. We believe that it is now in a safe house.

What happens now? The United States is about to file criminal charges against him and that would result in extradition proceedings to bring the United States to stand trial and possibly jail.

If the United States intends to life imprisonment Bradley Manning, who was behind the WikiLeaks release of tens of thousands of memos from the State Department in 2010, which is the punishment store for Snowden, who is guilty of the leak on a larger scale? Manning released documents were simply "sort". Snowden is not only were "Top Secret", but the traffic was very limited.

For an American, the traditional home of history courses Snowden intended to be have been the New York Times. But during long talks last week with a team of Tutor, recalled how he had been shocked to discover the Times had a big scoop of the year in the 2004 election - that the Bush administration after 11 / 9 authorized the NSA to spy on U.S. citizens without a warrant - but they sat on it for a year before the publication

Snowden said it was a turning point for him, confirming his belief that traditional media can not be trusted. He looked around for alternative journalists, who were anti-establishment and at home with blogs and other social media. The member of this generation was the greatest goalie Glenn Greenwald commentator.

In January, Snowden approached a documentary filmmaker and journalist, Laura Poitras, and began corresponding. In mid-February, has sent an email to Greenwald, who lives in Brazil, suggesting that might want to set up a way to send and receive encrypted messages. Even a YouTube video Greenwald, to step by step through the process of encryption. Greenwald did not know the identity of the person providing the leak and was not sure if they were genuine. It has taken no action. In March, New York, received a call from Poitras, who convinced him that he had to take it more seriously.

Snowden Greenwald and establish a secure communication system and the first documents arrived, on the Prism secret NSA program, which brings together companies information technology in the world.

Greenwald flew to New York to discuss with the editors of The Guardian on May 31 and the next day, he and Poitras traveled to Hong Kong. (I found the first two in the New York office, accompanied them to Hong Kong and joined them in the Snowden interview for the better part of the week, and writing articles based on leaked documents and interviews ).

Poitras

Neither Greenwald do not even know what Snowden appeared. "He had a complex plan to meet," said Greenwald. Snowden told him to go to a specific location on the third floor of the hotel and wonder aloud how to get to a restaurant. Greenwald supposed Snowden was lurking in the background, listening in.

entered a room that, Greenwald noted, contained a large faux crocodile. Snowden was released. He said Greenwald "I knew it was him, because he would be carrying the Rubik's Cube."

two Greenwald and Poitras was surprised the first time I saw 29 years old. Greenwald says:

I expected a grizzled veteran of 60 years, someone in the upper echelons of the intelligence services. I thought: "This will be a wasted journey.

• After an hour of listening to Snowden, Greenwald has changed his mind. "I believed him completely," he said.
• The interviews were conducted in the chamber Snowden, overlooking the Kowloon Park. Snowden and journalists, complete with crew, crammed into the small space. He had been there for two weeks, with meals sent. He did not have much with him some clothes, a book, four computers, the Rubik's Cube. He became concerned about the costs and especially the possibility that their credit cards would be blocked.
• Although well versed in surveillance techniques would not have been hard to find -. Having signed with his own name, using their own credit cards
• interviews, as well as the leaked documents, provided with four tablespoons saves in quick succession, the issuance of the court order that the U.S. government forced the telecommunications giant Verizon put the phone records of millions of Americans with the previously undisclosed, Prism program.
history Prism was also published independently by the Washington Post after Poitras, a freelance journalist, was approached before investigative reporter Barton Gellman, who took the story on paper. Once in the factory working in Hong Kong, Poitras began working with the Guardian team.

Sunday, the past history of the leak leak. Snowden had decided early on against anonymity and Poitras filmed him being interviewed by Greenwald video could announce his departure.

Decision

Snowden

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