The sad truth is that societies that demand whistleblowers be martyrs often find themselves without either, and always when it matters the most.

Where are we going to reject that easy but flawed process of letting the intelligence services do whatever they want? It's inevitable that it will happen. I think it's going to be where Internet businesses go.

I understand that I will be made to suffer for my actions, and that the return of this information to the public marks my end.

I have been a systems engineer, systems administrator, a senior adviser for the Central Intelligence Agency, a solutions consultant and a telecommunications information systems officer.

I do not expect to see home again.

The issue I brought forward most clearly was that of mass surveillance, not of surveillance in general.

If I target for example an email address, for example under FAA 702, and that email address sent something to you, Joe America, the analyst gets it. All of it. IPs, raw data, content, headers, attachments, everything. And it gets saved for a very long time - and can be extended further with waivers rather than warrants.