Edward Snowden 'leaves Hong Kong on Moscow flight'

[Benton D Struckcheon]

85. What he needed to do was pretty simple,

stop talking re US hacking China or anyone else. If his beef was on domestic spying and his libertarian ideals re that, which is actually a good case, why pollute the water with all this other stuff? That was monumentally stupid. Everything he's done since pointing out the domestic angle to his NSA beef has undercut his credibility. Any headline with Moscow in it doesn't advance his case, which I think I illustrated quite well just now. Even less for any with Havana in it, and Caracas is only one tiny step above that, if at all, in the eyes of most of the US public (whether they deserve it or not).
His rationale for going to HK was a good one, and if he stayed there the HK gov could have dragged things out for years. I'm not sure where he is going to wind up now, but the only good choice is Iceland, if they take him. Cuba isn't good because within the next 10 years it will be back under the control of the US. Venezuela is still a democracy, and Maduro didn't win the last election by much. If a new one were held now it would be a toss up as to whether he stays in office, and once he goes, so too does Snowden's shelter. What's Maduro going to do if the US decides to cut off Venezuelan oil purchases due to this? Most of their oil comes to this country. These are things he needs to consider.
My point here is Snowden made a good move going to HK, but everything he's done since then has not been wise. He needed to keep to the narrow case of domestic spying so as to keep the charge of traitor as far away as possible. Beyond that, he needs to choose what country he lands in very carefully, because a good choice this year may easily not be one next year. And winding up in either Venezuela - Chavez had an 8% approval rating in the US last I looked, and Maduro's, to the extent he's known, is probably even lower - or Cuba only increases the odor of "traitor" around his name, and puts him in a very insecure position. For a chess enthusiast, he doesn't seem to be thinking more than two moves ahead, which if you're up against a good player, is careless. Especially if the player is good and already has a couple of pieces on you, and I think we can all agree the USG has a few more resources than Snowden.