US whistleblower Edward Snowden is stuck in the international section of a Moscow airport today, but that problem may be coming to an end as three nations have offered him asylum in the past 24 hours, all of them South American.
Venezuela and Nicaragua came first, last night both saying they would offer asylum. Venezuela has already gotten an extradition request from the US on the matter. Bolivia, which was caught up in the row earlier in the week when EU officials forced President Morales’ plane down on the mere suspicion that Snowden might be on board, has joined them.
All three are possibilities now, though it is unclear which Snowden might favor. All three are a world away, however, and traveling from Moscow to any of the destinations may be no simple task.
Especially after the Morales fiasco. If EU nations are willing to down a foreign president’s plane on the off chance Snowden may be aboard, European airspace doesn’t seem a viable option to take, and unfortunately that is the favored commercial route to South America. Barring any additional offers of asylum someplace closer, Snowden may still be stuck in Moscow while the details of his flight are negotiated, which could take awhile.
I'll say it again………….
The safest and best thing for Snowden to do would be to remain in Moscow. I know that he doesn't want to be tainted with the stigma of being branded a "Russian agent" by the blowhards in the US, but he should make it clear that he really has no choice. His supporters would certainly understand his predicament and his detractor's will call him a 'traitor" whether he stays in Moscow or not.
Moscow is a beautiful westernized city where he'd be able to find good employment with his computer skills and make a very good living. He would not have to worry about a banana republic style coup or a CIA snatch squad dragging him off the streets as could happen in South America. He's probably safer in Moscow than any city in the world. He should accept the Russian's governments terms (his days of leaking are over anyway) so this saga can end and more attention can be paid to Snowden's revelations rather than the drama of where he is.
You're right about his prospects in South America. However, even in Moscow he'll have FedGov assassination teams to deal with. They're easily inserted under diplomatic cover and can likely carry out an operation before the FSB can make any counter-moves. That's not to say that the assassin(s) would necessarily get away after the op, as Raymond Allen Davis demonstrated in Pakistan, but Snowden would still have to face being killed. I wish the young man the best, because he has certainly done more for American liberty than anyone in recent history to stop the march of those would-be Stasi thugs in DC.
I understand what you're saying, but I doubt it. It's highly unlikely that the US would risk such an operation on Russian soil. There's a reason why both nations don't carry out this kind of extreme activity on each others soil (yes, they spy on each other but has their ever been any proof of assassination?), since it's fraught with serious repercussions. Washington has also made it clear that it was not willing to further erode it's relationship with Russia because of Snowden. I truly think they want to capture him so he can be paraded in court and made an example of.
I believe DC would LOVE for him to flee to South America because they'll have him in their backyard and could carry out such an operation without too much blowback from the country they do it in. An operation like this in Moscow is too risky on all fronts and simply not worth the damage it would do to US/Russian relations, not to mention the 70% support Snowden enjoys among 18-34 year olds in the US. They want him, but he's not Bin Laden.
Agreed. Russia is high tech and it would be ideal for a guy with his skills. And there's no worry about having to risk traveling thousands of miles and changing planes, etc.
I'm very disappointed in Putin. But Snowden doesn't want to appear as a Russian agent and Putin doesn't want to appear as the US's nemesis. And I think it was a mistake that his lawyers recalled their asylum request. I think they could have negotiated some deal with Russia.
Still, we know that there are US agents on Russia's streets, so I'm not sure he would have been safer there than somewhere else.
Rick, I know there are US agents in Russia and vice versa, but as I stated earlier, a hit or a snatch would be very dangerous and risky. I'm not saying its IMPOSSIBLE, only that the chances are far lower of it happening or begin attempted in Moscow than Caracas. The FSB will probably have Snowden under very tight surveillance if they should grant him asylum, and as we know, the FSB isn't the intelligence service of some banana republic but every bit as formidable as the CIA or any third party the US would attempt to hire to nab Snowden.
I don't understand why people are disappointed in Putin: Bottom line: Snowden is in Russia and he's safe. Putin told the US that he would NOT be extradited there, so as far as I'm concerned, Putin is fine by me in this matter. YES, he is not saying the things we'd like him to say, but he's attempting to avoid further damage to the already fraught relations between the US/Russia. Keep in mind, that if what we're reading is true, Snowden is the one who shunned an asylum offer from Russia. Their terms of "no more leaks" was likely to allow DC to save some face since the leaks from Snowden himself are over – at least according to Greenwald. My position is Snowden made a mistake by not accepting the offer.
With the speed in which scandals are now developing, I don't expect the Western banking system and the corrupt political establishment it supports to last that much longer. So the best thing Snowden could do is stay in Russia and wait things out in one of the few countries in the world where US agents would not dare attempt a snatch operation.
Yes. It's puzzling to me why at this stage Snowden would want to ditch Russia for Bolivia or Venezuela. His supporters will surely understand why he'd want to remain in Russia, but Snowden seems to be concerned with how it will be viewed. His detractors in the US will call him a "traitor" regardless of where he goes, so why not stay in the best place possible?
The US government must be insane to make any real effort to grab Snowden, which makes me wonder if all this isn't just for show, simply because they went ahead with the useless step of charging him with espionage. Why do I say this? Because chances are, Snowden took out insurance, by stealing more secrets than he has revealed, and placing them where they won't easily find them, or entrusting them to unknown third parties. If he is captured, or assassinated, it could be their worst nightmare.
VIVA BOLIVIA-NICARAGUA-VENEZUELA..!!!!
Thank you BOLIVIA-NICARAGUA-VENEZUELA.!
Congratulations to all 3 of them. I take back my criticism of them all. This is the right thing to do. Perhaps Brazil will join them as well once Greenwald's article is published, not sure if they would reverse their earlier negative position. Brazil would be a good choice as well for Snowden, although unlike some of the other countries, they could easily end up with some future government more likely to turn him in.
The craven cowardice of countries in Europe, especially France where I live (under a "socialist" government and supposedly fully supporting the rights of man), shows how difficult it is for Snowden or any brave USan. Russia and China are viewed by the USA as enemies as if the Cold War continued, and the over-the-top acts of the USA seem to show that despite Obama's protestations, there seems to be a real fear of the revelations and any future leaks. If the USA really cared about its population its policies would be markedly different.
Thank you BOLIVIA-NICARAGUA-VENEZUELA.!
In Cuba he would be safest……..I believe……….. Maybe not forever, but today…!!!!!!!! It is a lockdown state……… Easy to enter, almost impossible to get out, except with their gov's. permission……….
The fact that a presidential plane was refused air space, grounded and searched is proof that the US is desperate to silence Snowden and proof that the European countries that obeyed their US Master without a peep have fallen as low as our own government…or do they now have so much dirt on everyone they don't even have to pretend to follow international law?
Snowden will have to be careful – thugs are thugs no matter how well dressed and smiling.
They now furnish "protection," so those who are really scared scamper under the umbrella.
The USA has a long history of CIA and special forces intervention in Bolivia.
The USA covertly tried to engineer the overthrow of Venezuela's democratically elected government in 2002.
The USA militarily intervened in Nicaragua eight times and occupied it three times.
Maybe payback is granting a whistle-blower asylum.