Well, the committee gave China the middle finger. I'm not sure why it wouldn't do the same to the US. Besides, Snowden is at odds with the US while Malala is at

Well, the committee gave China the middle finger. I'm not sure why it wouldn't do the same to the US. Besides, Snowden is at odds with the US while Malala is at odds with the pakistani Taliban. Pakistan has about the same population as Japan, so it's important. Snowden was supposedly a strong candidate, but there are valid reasons not to choose him.