I would hate to see Snowden ending up in Venezuela. He would not only become another count to the homicide statistics in the country, but It will also give Maduro, an illegitimate president, something to boast about.
> I would hate to see Snowden ending up in Venezuela.
Let's be realistic: at this point, the only countries that would offer him asylum at the cost of defying the US are enemies of the US, such as Afghanistan, Iran or Cuba.
Especially considering it looks like he plans not to be quiet post-asylum. My read of the Russian case is that they suggested he might get asylum there if he basically drops off the radar and stops releasing things or being politically involved, and he refused that condition. To be willing to give him an active base to work from going forward more or less requires a country that either doesn't care or actively wants to snub the US, and doesn't mind that he might keep doing things that will continue to antagonize the US for years into the future.
That's one reason I think the Bobby Fischer asylum was easier for Iceland: he was wanted by the U.S. for a one-time thing, violating sanctions by playing a for-profit chess match in Serbia. There was not much chance he would be an ongoing thorn in the side of US-Icelandic relations post-asylum, since he could hardly continue to violate US sanctions from Iceland. The main risk was just that he would say embarrassingly antisemitic conspiracy-theory stuff, which he got sort of a pass on because people expect chess prodigies to be nuts.
laureny|12 years ago
Let's be realistic: at this point, the only countries that would offer him asylum at the cost of defying the US are enemies of the US, such as Afghanistan, Iran or Cuba.
_delirium|12 years ago
That's one reason I think the Bobby Fischer asylum was easier for Iceland: he was wanted by the U.S. for a one-time thing, violating sanctions by playing a for-profit chess match in Serbia. There was not much chance he would be an ongoing thorn in the side of US-Icelandic relations post-asylum, since he could hardly continue to violate US sanctions from Iceland. The main risk was just that he would say embarrassingly antisemitic conspiracy-theory stuff, which he got sort of a pass on because people expect chess prodigies to be nuts.