Edward Snowden, the man who leaked details of top-secret U.S. government mass spying programs to the press says Å“after 9/11 attacks many of the most important news outlets in America abdicated their role as a check to power for fear of being seen as unpatriotic and punished in the market during a period of heightened nationalism.”
Snowden said in an interview released by The New York Times that he decided to reveal the details to documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras and Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald because they Å“are among the few who reported fearlessly on controversial topics throughout this period, even in the face of withering personal criticism, and resulted in Laura specifically becoming targeted by the very programs involved in the recent disclosures. She had demonstrated the courage, personal experience and skill needed to handle what is probably the most dangerous assignment any journalist can be given – reporting on the secret misdeeds of the most powerful government in the world – making her an obvious choice.”
He also said that he Å“was surprised to realize that there were people in news organizations who didnâ„¢t recognize any unencrypted message sent over the Internet is being delivered to every intelligence service in the world.”
Snowden added that with his disclosures Å“it should be clear that unencrypted journalist-source communication is unforgivably reckless.”
U.S. government has charged Snowden with theft, Å“unauthorized communication of national defense information” and Å“willful communication of classified communications intelligence information to an unauthorized person,” according to the complaint. The last two charges were brought under the 1917 Espionage Act.
U.S. President Barack Obama has said Snowden is Å“not a patriot” for revealing details of secret US surveillance programs. Obama urged Snowden to return to the U.S. to face espionage charges.
Obama called for a Å“thorough review” of the spying programs. His critics, however; say if Snowden hadnâ„¢t divulged the details of the top-secret programs operated by the National Security Agency (NSA) and FBI to spy on both Americans and foreigners Obama wouldnâ„¢t have called for the reforms.
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Republished from: Press TV