It seems that the wily ex contractor's, who has made it his mission to unveil US surveillance at home and abroad, travel plans have hit a snag.
First it was Hong Kong, which, while hiding behind the curtain of self righteous indignation, packed the sullen contractor off to Russia, happy to have the hot potato off its hands.
Now it's Russia's turn to cry foul.
The manouever to move Snowden to his ultimate destination failed when the Russian authorities realized that he was becoming more of a liability than an advantage. It could be that Snowden either does not have important documents or that Russia is not able to get from him what she hoped. After all, the stopover did not have any other strategic reasons, or did it? A flight could have been arranged from Hong Kong directly to the country of ultimate destination, or could it have?
Was Russia trying to poke the finger at the U.S.? More importantly, was Russia trying to get Snowden on its soil so that it could use him in exchange for concession in the Syria theatre or elsewhere? Or did Russia believe it could pluck from the contractor his secrets and his papers, which he most probably hid well away?
As much as Russia likes to stick a finger in the American eye, it does not usually do so unless there is something in it for her.
But there was a small snag. As Snowden was aloft between one host country and the other, the U.S. revoked his passport. Now Russia's choices have drastically changed.
She cannot send Snowden off on one of her planes without a passport. The only way it can do that is if she allows Snowden to cross the neutral airport zone into the mainland and then give him papers. But then, of course, Russia would be harboring a fugitive and extradition papers would immediately be readied, although there is no extradition treaty between the two countries. And of course, it would also mean that Russia was purposely sticking her finger in the American eye, and maybe getting nothing in return.
The only way the Russian authorities could claim not to have broken international laws, treaties, or just good will, was to keep Snowden in the neutral zone. But then, from there they can't move him. So the contractor is stuck, in limbo, until a country steps in and forwards asylum papers that would allow him to travel.
Ecuador already is showing signs of a strange two pronged approach to the asylum request. On one hand they claim that the papers will not be available for months, and on the other they have renounced their tariff advantage that the U.S. granted them and other Andean countries long ago in a scornful rebuff to what they see as the U.S.'s use of the tariffs as blackmail for granting Snowden asylum. But secretly, there is word they are negotiating for a renewal of the tariff concessions directly to the President of the U.S.
Then there is Venezuela. That country seems to be, theoretically willing to forward papers to Snowden after granting asylum, but so far it's only been words. Maduro will be traveling to Moscow coincidentally this coming Monday, and from there evaluate the situation with a greater degree of clarity. It remains to be seen whether Venezuela is willing to put her money where her mouth is.
Cuba, another candidate for asylum, is staying mum, and for good reason. They want no part of Snowden, as they are trying to rid themselves of the decades old embargo and step into a new era, economically and politically.
So what now? Well, it seems Snowden, who had made a blazing exit towards Hong Kong and was poised to dazzle the world with his cloak and dagger escapade has become persona non grata and a pawn for tangled, and mostly secret, negotiations, between the US and the countries he believed would aid him.
It seems then, that the contractor might have spent too much time in the darkness of his office, or apartment, and forgotten that in the real world there are no friends, or allies, or idealist nations that are ready to receive and protect a self professed idealist whistleblower. He is, as is always in the frame of geopolitical parameters, a pawn in a very, very big game.
Op-Ed
Partial Source: France 24/6.28.13
No comments:
Post a Comment