> Why couldn't he have gone straight to Iceland, Norway, Switzerland... any number of countries for which extradition to US may be difficult but at least have n

> Why couldn't he have gone straight to Iceland, Norway, Switzerland... any number of countries for which extradition to US may be difficult but at least have nominal respect for human rights. Well, there is the recent statement from Birgitta Jónsdóttir that asylum in Iceland would be a difficult achievement. Beyond that, you seem to be having difficulty understanding (and passing judgment on) Snowden choosing to act in a way that you wouldn't. This is hardly a judgment against Snowden. He's not necessarily making moves to maintain a good PR story. One might be justified in the assumption that he is making necessary and strategic choices. > Perhaps it's also asking too much, but - IMO - if he really wanted to make a statement with full moral authority he could have just pulled a Socrates and stood trial here in the US. That's a curious judgment of 'full moral authority'. Humans are an imperfect creature. Full moral authority is not derived from actions alone, but also from the intentions behind those actions. Who knows, perhaps Snowden will pull a Socrates when he has completed his current mission of strategically releasing information until his cache is exhausted.