To Washington and the American intelligence community, whose abuses he exposed, Edward Snowden is a traitor who deserves to spend the rest of his natural life behind bars. Symptomatic of the divide that separates, the New York Times hails Snowden as a great patriot who deserves nothing less than a complete pardon from his government.
“Considering the enormous value of the information he has revealed, and the abuses he has exposed, Mr. Snowden deserves better than a life of permanent exile, fear and flight. He may have committed a crime to do so, but he has done his country a great service. It is time for the United States to offer Mr. Snowden a plea bargain or some form of clemency that would allow him to return home, face at least substantially reduced punishment in light of his role as a whistle-blower, and have the hope of a life advocating for greater privacy and far stronger oversight of the runaway intelligence community.”
Of course there's no telling how this will turn out but Obama, indeed all of Washington, risks making a martyr out of Edward Snowden and villains of themselves. The divide between the people and the government that no longer serves the people is opening, slowly perhaps but steadily. It's the sort of thing that can reach a tipping point. The sooner, the better.
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