General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: I wonder if Bradley Manning's torture encouraged Snowden to leave the US [View all]RVN VET
(492 posts)yet he was tortured -- held in solitary, humiliated, left wondering whether his life was in jeopardy, not offered the possibility of a trial of any sort and, then, provided one after he'd already been, essentially, pre-punished for what he was alleged to have done (even though the allegations themselves were never really made clear).
Yep, I would have run if I were Snowden. Even more than Manning's incarceration and ugly treatment, though, i would have been concerned about renditioning and that old South American standby that the School of the americas provided graduate school training in: being "desaparecido".
Still a lot of mystery about Snowden's motivations, how he got his job, what he "stole", etc., etc. But I don't doubt for an instant his justification for getting out of Dodge and staying out.