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> 2) that he'll be free to board and fly? - thus he is free to leave Russia whenever he likes. Well, OK, in my books you can get a medal for naivety. Obviously

> 2) that he'll be free to board and fly? - thus he is free to leave Russia whenever he likes. Well, OK, in my books you can get a medal for naivety. Obviously it's your speculation against mine, but I speculate he's sort of a "soft hostage" of Putin's, because Putin could give him up to the US government to trade for something worthwhile. And if Snowden's not always being monitored by FSB/police, then the Putin regime really is incompetent.

blitzar 5y ago
What is the 'value' of Snowden to the US? In order to exchange him and trade for something worthwhile he would need to have a value. I suggest that the value of Snowden to the US is negative. Not even 0, but massively massively negative. Putin would love Snowden to get on a plane, land on US soil and be met with the full SWAT squad and cuffed face down on the tarmac infront of the worlds media. They could even have the helicopters following the car down the motorway; cue logo, theme tune and hours back in America clock for the 24 hour rolling news coverage. We can then have a sham show trial and be sentenced to 1000 years or the death penalty for treason. Every document being dragged through the courts, or even better a super secret trial would be one of the biggest propaganda wins for the anti-US part of the world, including but not limited to Russia, in the entire history of mankind. The US doesn't want Snowden back, the whole saga is long forgotten and rehashing it is nothing but bad news. No President with a brain wants the problem, Snowden is literally a third rail, instant death to America. I expect Snowden is well looked after by the FSB and kept safe, but not too comfortable in Russia.
- deleted 5y ago
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- dgellow 5y ago
  > The US doesn't want Snowden back, the whole saga is long forgotten and rehashing it is nothing but bad news. No President with a brain wants the problem, Snowden is literally a third rail, instant death to America. Every single US president since Obama have been clear they want both Snowden and Assange to be back to the US. They have done a lot of efforts over the years to get them back to their territory. They absolutely seem to care about it, way more than the PR backlash.
  - blitzar 5y ago
    “I would like to return to the United States,” Snowden told CBS. “That is the ultimate goal. But if I’m gonna spend the rest of my life in prison, the one bottom line demand that we have to agree to is that at least I get a fair trial. And that is the one thing the government has refused to guarantee because they won’t provide access to what’s called a public interest defense.” [0] They absolutely seem to care about it yet all they have to do is guarantee to uphold the law of the land and give a fair trial. Its really not a very big ask, if the position today is the result of lots of effort they are not sending their best people to put in the work. [0] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-what-edward-snowden-says-it-will-take-for-him-to-return-to-the-us-2019-09-16 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-what-edward-snowde...

blitzar 5y ago

What is the 'value' of Snowden to the US? In order to exchange him and trade for something worthwhile he would need to have a value. I suggest that the value of Snowden to the US is negative. Not even 0, but massively massively negative. Putin would love Snowden to get on a plane, land on US soil and be met with the full SWAT squad and cuffed face down on the tarmac infront of the worlds media. They could even have the helicopters following the car down the motorway; cue logo, theme tune and hours back in America clock for the 24 hour rolling news coverage. We can then have a sham show trial and be sentenced to 1000 years or the death penalty for treason. Every document being dragged through the courts, or even better a super secret trial would be one of the biggest propaganda wins for the anti-US part of the world, including but not limited to Russia, in the entire history of mankind. The US doesn't want Snowden back, the whole saga is long forgotten and rehashing it is nothing but bad news. No President with a brain wants the problem, Snowden is literally a third rail, instant death to America. I expect Snowden is well looked after by the FSB and kept safe, but not too comfortable in Russia.

deleted 5y ago
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dgellow 5y ago
> The US doesn't want Snowden back, the whole saga is long forgotten and rehashing it is nothing but bad news. No President with a brain wants the problem, Snowden is literally a third rail, instant death to America. Every single US president since Obama have been clear they want both Snowden and Assange to be back to the US. They have done a lot of efforts over the years to get them back to their territory. They absolutely seem to care about it, way more than the PR backlash.
- blitzar 5y ago
  “I would like to return to the United States,” Snowden told CBS. “That is the ultimate goal. But if I’m gonna spend the rest of my life in prison, the one bottom line demand that we have to agree to is that at least I get a fair trial. And that is the one thing the government has refused to guarantee because they won’t provide access to what’s called a public interest defense.” [0] They absolutely seem to care about it yet all they have to do is guarantee to uphold the law of the land and give a fair trial. Its really not a very big ask, if the position today is the result of lots of effort they are not sending their best people to put in the work. [0] https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-what-edward-snowden-says-it-will-take-for-him-to-return-to-the-us-2019-09-16 https://www.marketwatch.com/story/this-is-what-edward-snowde...