號外號外，斯諾登表示要回美國啦！

Edward Snowden may have recently received a three-year extension of his stay in Russia, but the former National Security Agency contractor says in a new interview with WIRED magazine that he still clings to hope of returning home to the United States, even if it means living behind bars.

“I told the government I’d volunteer for prison, as long as it served the right purpose,” Snowden said the article released Wednesday. “I care more about the country than what happens to me. But we can’t allow the law to become a political weapon or agree to scare people away from standing up for their rights, no matter how good the deal. I’m not going to be part of that.”

Described by WIRED as “the most wanted man in the world,” Snowden is being sought for leaking top-secret documents that unveiled widespread surveillance programs overseen by the federal government. He currently is hiding out in an undisclosed community in Russia, where he says he goes mostly unrecognized.

The magazine includes numerous photographs of Snowden, including a previously unseen one of him with his former boss Michael Hayden, a past director of both the NSA and CIA. Other photos show Snowden in silhouette in a hotel room, or on a couch looking fatigued. In another photo, Snowden wears a T-shirt with the word “SECURITY” on the back. The one expected to draw criticism, however, is the magazine cover showing Snowden, whom many Americans consider a traitor, wrapped in an American flag.

“He thought very carefully about that moment,” WIRED editor-in-chief Scott Dadich, who wrote about the photo shoot for the magazine, told TODAY's Willie Geist. “He said, ‘I love my country. I feel like a patriot. And this is an important thing for me.’ And it was at that moment that we knew that we had the cover.”

In the WIRED article, Snowden disputed government claims that he lifted 1.7 million documents, calling the figure inflated. He also said he left a trail of digital bread crumbs so that investigators would know which documents he copied and took and which ones he only “touched.”

His intent was to act as a whistleblower, not as a spy for a foreign government, he told the magazine. Government auditors, however, failed to catch on to any of the clues he left behind.

“I figured they would have a hard time,” he said. “I didn’t figure they would be completely incapable.”

In audio released by WIRED, Snowden describes technology as “the greatest equalizer in human history” and said his actions were driven by the desire to help educate Americans about their nation and their leaders.

“I gave this information back to the public, to public hands, and the reason I did that was not to gain a label but to give you back a choice about the country you want to live in,” he said.

Snowden also told WIRED about a top-secret NSA program in the works called “Monstermind,” which would automatically retaliate against cyber attacks from foreign countries without any human involvement.

WIRED writer Jim Bamford, who spent three days interviewing Snowden for the article, explained how such a program could go awry.

“So you can have North Korea maybe attacking the United States through a cyber attack, but masquerading it through Iran or masquerading it through Russia,” he said. “And if you just turn around and automatically fire back, you may be starting an accidental war.”

The NSA told TODAY in a statement its officials would gladly speak with Snowden — but back on American ground.

"If Mr. Snowden wants to discuss his activities, that conversation should be held with the US Department of Justice. He needs to return to the United States to face the charges against him," the agency said.

Bamford told TODAY he's amazed by the extent of the documents Snowden had access to.

“I've probably interviewed more NSA whistleblowers than anybody else,” said Bamford, who is a former agency whistleblower himself. "I was astonished at the accesses that Ed Snowden had. I mean, he had access to material well beyond top secret. Way over most anybody's head at NSA.”

據英國《當日新聞》網站(Today.com)8月13日報道，愛德華·斯諾登可能已獲得俄羅斯為期三年的居留許可。然而，這位前美國國家安全局職工在新一期《連線》雜志采訪時表示，即使要遭受牢獄之苦，也愿意重返美國。

“我告訴美國政府只要目的正確，我愿意回國認罪服刑”斯諾登在周三公布的報道中表示。“比起自身的遭遇，我更關心美國的安危。但無論有多大的好處，我們不能讓法律成為政治武器，或者成為恫嚇人們放棄捍衛(wèi)自身權利的威脅。我絕不會這樣做。”

斯諾登因泄漏機密文件、向媒體披露由聯邦政府啟動的秘密監(jiān)控項目而被通緝，被《連線》雜志形容為“世界頭號通緝犯”。目前，他藏身于俄羅斯一隱秘社區(qū)內，并稱在那里沒人能認出他。

這本雜志中包含許多斯諾登的照片，其中一張首次曝光他與前任老板——前美國國家安全局及中央情報局局長邁克爾·海登的合影。其它照片則是關于斯諾登在酒店房間里或沙發(fā)上看似疲憊的剪影。在另一張照片中，斯諾登穿了一件背部印有“SECURITY”(“安保”)的T恤。斯諾登被多數美國人認為是賣國賊，原本以為這樣的照片是在吸引更多的批評指責，然而，斯諾登擁抱美國國旗的照片卻刊登在這本雜志的封面上。

“他仔細斟酌著那一時刻。”《連線》雜志主編斯科特•達迪奇(Scott Dadich)為雜志撰寫了這組照片拍攝的故事，他向《當日新聞》記者的威利•蓋斯特(Willie Geist)透漏“斯諾登說，‘我愛我的祖國，我是一個熱愛祖國的人。這一點對我來說至關重要。’那一刻，我們認為這張照片應作為雜志的封面。”

在《連線》雜志的一篇文章中寫道，斯諾登與美國政府發(fā)生爭議，政府聲稱他盜取了170萬個文件，他直呼數字被惡意夸大。他還解釋到自己故意留下一些蛛絲馬跡，以便調查人員知道哪些文件被他復制，以及哪些文件只是被“動過”而已。

他告訴該雜志，他的目的是揭發(fā)高密，而不是外國政府間諜。然而，政府審計人員未能理解任何他留下的線索。

“我想他們那段時期一定很難度過。”他說。“我沒有想到他們會完全沒辦法。”

《連線》雜志發(fā)布的一段音頻中，斯諾登將技術描寫為“人類歷史上最偉大的均衡器”，還稱他的行為是為了幫助美國人去了解他們的國家和領導人。

“我將這些信息公之于眾，這樣做的原因不是要給自己添加一個標簽，而是還你一個選擇權，由自己決定要生活在什么樣的國家里”他稱。

斯諾登再次向《連線》雜志爆料，美國國家安全局正推進一個名為“怪獸大腦”的機密NSA項目，這一項目可以自動回擊國外網絡攻擊，無需人工參與。

《連線》雜志編輯吉姆·班福德(Jim Bamford)解釋了這一項目的漏洞之處，為寫這篇文章他耗時三天對斯諾登進行個人專訪。

“所以你可以設想，朝鮮要通過網絡攻擊美國，但它偽裝成是來自伊朗或俄羅斯的攻擊”他稱。“如果你只是轉向自動反擊，那么你可能會引發(fā)一場意外的戰(zhàn)爭。”

美國國家安全局向《當日新聞》透漏，政府官員聲明愿意與斯諾登對話——但要等他回到美國。

“如果斯諾登先生想討論自己的種種行為，那么他應該與美國司法部面談。他需要回到美國接受指控。”該機構表示。

班福德告訴《當日新聞》，他的驚訝于斯諾登所竊取的文件機密程度。

班福德之前也是一名泄密者，他稱，“我可能是采訪國家安全局泄密者最多的人。”“我對愛德華·斯諾登所竊取的文件機密程度感到很吃驚。我是說，他竊取的材料遠遠超出最高機密。這已超過了多數美國國家安全局領導的權限。”