NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden has been stuck in the transit zone of a Russian airport for a week. The U.S. government cancelled his passport, so he can’t get on another airplane. He has reportedly applied to 21 countries for asylum, all to no avail. (Some would take him, but he has to get there first.) What he should have done is settle in a country that would take him and then out himself as the leaker of the NSA internet and cell phone surveillance scheme. What he should do now is turn himself in to American authorities and take his punishment like a man.
Still, whether he is a traitor or a hero, I feel sorry for him. He is truly a Man Without a Country. (Read that short story by Edward Everett Hale to get your patriotic juices flowing on this Fourth of July.)
From Snowden asylum requests sent to 21 countries—WikiLeaks | Inquirer Technology:
Fugitive US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden has submitted asylum requests to 19 more nations including Cuba, Venezuela, Brazil, India, China, Russia, Germany and France, Wikileaks said Monday.
In addition to earlier requests to Ecuador and Iceland, Wikilieaks said its legal advisor in the Snowden matter, Sarah Harrison, had personally submitted other requests on behalf of Snowden, the NSA whistleblower.
“The requests were delivered to an official at the Russian consulate at Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow late in the evening,” a WikiLeaks statement posted online said.
“The documents outline the risks of persecution Mr Snowden faces in the United States and have started to be delivered by the Russian consulate to the relevant embassies in Moscow.”
The petitions on Snowden’s behalf were made to Austria; Bolivia; Brazil, China, Cuba, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Ireland, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland and Venezuela, the group added.
Snowden on Monday accused US President Barack Obama of “pressuring the leaders” of countries from which he has sought protection.
In his first public announcement since fleeing Hong Kong eight days ago, Snowden accused Obama of having ordered Vice President Joe Biden to put pressure on leaders of countries where he was seeking asylum.
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