NSA whistle-blower Edward Snowden in a still image taken from video during an interview by the Guardian in his hotel room in Hong Kong on June 6, 2013
Edward Snowden has gloated that by exposing the National Security Agency (NSA) to public scrutiny, his mission was “already accomplished.”
In a series of interviews with the Washington Post, Snowden expressed satisfaction with his decision to leak classified documents to the press. He said his only concern in the months leading up to the decision was “public apathy,” but that the reaction he received has since allayed all of his concerns. “I already won,” he said.
He dismissed the idea that the leaks harmed the NSA, arguing that they would improve lax oversight of the agency’s spying operations. “I am still working for the NSA right now,” he said. “They are the only ones who don’t realize it.”
He deflected questions about his personal life, admitting that he spends most of his time indoors and subsists on a diet of ramen and chips, before steering the interview back to the issue of privacy rights.
[WP]