Ecuador, not US friendly

[Gob]

Edward Snowden, the former US intelligence contractor who leaked classified documents revealing US internet and phone surveillance, has asked Ecuador for asylum.

The request was confirmed by Ecuador's foreign minister on Twitter.

Mr Snowden had fled the US for Hong Kong but flew out on Sunday morning and is currently in Moscow.

A US extradition request to Hong Kong failed but Washington insists he should now be denied international travel.

The US justice department has called Hong Kong's decision not to arrest Mr Snowden "troubling".

On Sunday, a US official said Washington had contacted "Western Hemisphere" nations that Mr Snowden might travel to, or through.

"The US is advising these governments that Snowden is wanted on felony charges, and as such should not be allowed to proceed in any further international travel, other than is necessary to return him to the United States," the state department official said.

Earlier, Ecuador's Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, who is in Vietnam, said on Twitter: "The Government of Ecuador has received an asylum request from Edward J. #Snowden."

Senator Feinstein on CBS News: "I thought China would see this as an opportunity to improve US ties"

Wikileaks said in a statement that Mr Snowden was "bound for the Republic of Ecuador via a safe route for the purposes of asylum, and is being escorted by diplomats and legal advisers from Wikileaks".

Ecuador is already giving political asylum to Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has been sheltering in its London embassy for the past year.

[Big RR]

A thin skinned president gets ticked off because he's embarrassed, and the whole world must bow to his moving heaven and earth to get revenge. Bully for Ecuador.

[Sue U]

I don't know that this president is particularly thin-skinned. But it has been the policy of his administration to aggressively prosecute leakers, with more cases (now 7) than all previous administrations combined (3).

I frankly don't see why we need an international manhunt focused on this guy or why it's even of any real importance to "bring him to justice." Was there anyone who didn't know this kind of surveillance was going on? It's been in the news periodically for well over a decade. It is colossally naive to believe that any government with a security agency is not actively monitoring electronic communications systems to the greatest extent it can. What shocks me is only that the US government bothered to go through a court to get an order, rather than just purchasing the information from the telecom/social media providers in a private transaction like any other market researcher would do. Then they could have called the surveillance program "Operation Invisible Hand." But clearly, Obama hates capitalism.

[Crackpot]

RR

What does a thin skinned president have to do with it? The rule of law states that he must be charged. He broke the law and it should be up to a jury of his peers if his actions were justified. I personally think he was. But I also think his flight from prosecution does nothing to for his image. At the moment It is going to be a hard sale to give Snowden anything more than a slap on the wrist for his actions. However the more of an international issue he makes of it and the more chances he gives our enimies to thumb their noses at us the more he erodes the general goodwill he eenjoys.

In short he does well if he's viewed as a patriot defending our rights or he does poorly if he's viewed as an anti-American rubbing our noses in our failure to live up to our ideals.

[Big RR]

CP--whether he broke the law and deserves to be punished or not is debatable; but whether his actions justify the extreme waste of time and money the administration is devoting to apprehend and prosecute him is a second question that I think is less debatable. The real consequence of what he did was to embarrass Obama, a man who likes to project a public persona of being a guardian of civil rights (remember how he made Gitmo an issue in the first campaign?) . If I park overtime or drive over the speed limit, I might deserve to be prosecuted and punished as well, but unleashing a full international dragnet to apprehend me is not justified.

CP and Sue--that's where I think the thin skin comes in; there's certainly no other reason to devote this much attention to him. Just like Nixon, IMHO, I think Obama bristles when he's challenged by others, especially if they have facts on their side, and so he seeks to strike down the person offending him, whatever the cost.

In short he does well if he's viewed as a patriot defending our rights or he does poorly if he's viewed as an anti-American rubbing our noses in our failure to live up to our ideals.

I personally have no problem with either; if our behavior doesn't comport with our ideals, if it doesn't stand up to public scrutiny, perhaps it's time to change it. IMHO, it doesn't matter who exposes it or why.

[Rick]

Sue if he violated his clearance they take that very seriously, even if the overall program may be public knowledge…

[Sue U]

Sue if he violated his clearance they take that very seriously, even if the overall program may be public knowledge…

I understand that, and I don't think prosecution should be off the table if such a violation supports a criminal charge. My concern is making this dopey case into an international drama. Fire the guy, revoke his clearances, put a letter in his personnel file; if he comes back to the US, maybe arrest him (if the TSA can take a minute away from irradiating grandma). But getting into a diplomatic flap with China, Russia and anyone else over Eddie Snowden is just putting way too much significance onto this case. There ought to be some sense of proportion in gauging how big a deal to make over this type of disclosure.

[Rick]

I agree, however we start looking weak we are weak then it's spy vs spy all over again.

What is their reason for NOT extraditing, they still mad for all those seasons of mission impossible?

[Crackpot]

I agree Sue but this bit of theater is being engaged in by both sides.

[Rick]

Snowden could also be a double knot spy and all the hulla ballu is smoke and mirrors.

Ecuador has strong ties with Iran...

[Big RR]

Tim--there's a lot of things that "could be"; but absent any evidence, I see no reason to say they "are".

CP--sure both sides are guilty of this idiocy, but somehow it is much more embarrassing when the US government behaves like a petulant child. Surely we could rise above it.

[Rick]

Tim?

[Crackpot]

Tim who?

[Rick]

Must be a tiny Tim cause I ain't seen im...

[Crackpot]

Tiny Tim? Where Bob Crachit?

[oldr_n_wsr]

BAH HUMBUG.

[Big RR]

Very tiny; and the recipient of a recent e-mail from me. Sorry Rick.

[Gob]

The US has criticised Russia and China after fugitive Edward Snowden left Hong Kong for Moscow.

President Barack Obama said the US was pursuing "all the appropriate legal channels" in pursuit of him.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said it would be "disappointing" if Russia and China had helped him evade an attempt to extradite him.

Mr Snowden, who has applied for asylum in Ecuador, is believed to still be in Russia having flown there on Sunday.

White House spokesman Jay Carney said he did not believe Hong Kong's reasons for letting him leave.

The US has revoked Mr Snowden's passport, and he is thought to have spent the night in an airside hotel at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. [we changed planes there last trip home.]
On Monday, a seat was booked in his name on a flight to Cuba, but he was not seen on board when it took off.

The 30-year-old IT expert is wanted by the US for revealing to the media details of a secret government surveillance programme, which he obtained while working as a contractor for the National Security Agency (NSA).

He is charged with theft of government property, unauthorised communication of national defence information and wilful communication of classified communications intelligence.

[Econoline]

The rule of law states that he must be charged. He broke the law and it should be up to a jury of his peers if his actions were justified. I personally think he was. But I also think his flight from prosecution does nothing to for his image. At the moment It is going to be a hard sale to give Snowden anything more than a slap on the wrist for his actions. However the more of an international issue he makes of it and the more chances he gives our enimies to thumb their noses at us the more he erodes the general goodwill he eenjoys.

In short he does well if he's viewed as a patriot defending our rights or he does poorly if he's viewed as an anti-American rubbing our noses in our failure to live up to our ideals.

CP - good post. I agree 100%.

[Gob]

Fugitive US whistleblower Edward Snowden is still in the transit area at Moscow airport, Russia's President Vladimir Putin has confirmed.

Mr Putin said the intelligence leaker remained a free man, and the sooner he chose a destination the better.

But a White House spokeswoman said Russia had a "clear legal basis" to expel Mr Snowden.

Because Mr Snowden is in the airport's pre-immigration area, he is technically not yet in Russian territory.

The Russians have rejected American charges that they have assisted Mr Snowden.

China has also rejected similar charges, saying accusations that it allowed him to leave Hong Kong despite a warrant for his arrest were "groundless and unacceptable".