There is no truth in this article, only conjecture by someone who clearly has a grudge to bear.  For all we know, the author (un-named) of this article is working for Russian intelligence right now, by trying to paint Snowden as anything less than a concerned and patriotic citizen of the United States.<p>Everyone who works in the spy business has something to hide - and therefore, you really can&#x27;t trust anyone who works in the spy business.  Patriotic jingoism might work 80% of the time - but there will always be folks who can read between the lines and are unwilling to just put up with the state of affairs because some Authority told them it was so.<p>This article is full of authoritarian indoctrination.  &quot;Anyone who has worked in CI knows..&quot;, &quot;as anyone who knows anything about intelligence can tell you..&quot;, &quot;I&#x27;ve worked as an expert in this field for years&quot; (and yet remain an un-named author), etc.<p>Be careful as you read this article, that your buttons are not being pushed.  Of course, we know that the USA and Russia are engaged in an ideological war with each other - and of course, we know that there are reasons for all the secrecy.<p>But the fact remains that the US government, which is supposed to be democratic and representative of the desires of its people, has given itself unsavory powers that bring the world every closer to its destruction, in the name of its own &#x27;safety&#x27;.  &quot;All countries do this&quot;, you will hear them say - &quot;but then, what good are they?&quot; will be the reply.  And the answer is: if you&#x27;re going to spy on the worlds population, unhindered and uncontrolled by anyone by your own agency, and use that power for your own wealth and survival, then, your country is no good at all.