ABSTRACT
ON MAY 30, 2013, Edward Snowden, a contract employee for the National Security Agency, fl ed the United States for Hong Kong and then traveled on June 23 to Mos-cow. Snowden had released to news organizations, mainly Th e Guardian (London), detailed information about programs of mass surveillance of citizens in the United States and Britain, as well as embarrassing information about eavesdropping on other citizens of other countries, including European allies and friendly Latin American governments. Before he fl ew to Moscow, federal prosecutors indicted him on several charges, including espionage. Th e Kremlin, though unwilling to extradite Snowden, said it would give only temporary asylum and advised him to look elsewhere. His extradition back to the United States became a high priority for Washington, which let governments around the world know that any country granting Snowden asylum would pay a high price for its defi ance of the global hegemon on this matter.
