Edward Snowden's Flight of Fancy

photo/telegraph.co.uk

Anyone who hasn't followed the story of Edward's Snowden outing the National Security Agency for its use of a surveillance system, which tracked phone calls and e-mails should check the background information before reading further. From the moment the story broke, I doubted the veracity of Snowden's stated motivation for revealing classified information to the world. With each succeeding day, his actions have spoken much louder than his words to The Guardian: "I don't want to live in a society that does these sort of things--I don't want to live in a world where everything I do and say is recorded. That is not something I am willing to support or live under." Really, Mr. Snowden?  Let's examine a few facts to see just how important living in an open society is to him.

If Snowden were so determined to live in a world with no secret collection of data, he used flawed logic in selecting the country to which he fled for safety.  Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, while known as a productive place to do business, is still part of a repressive regime that routinely intrudes on citizens' private lives. Perhaps he has forgotten about the massacre at Tiananmen Square in June of 1989 during which thousands unarmed citizens were killed, because he was so young then. China hasn't changed so much that it would be considered a bastion of freedom today. I assume Snowden is also unaware of the massive spying program China uses on the United States and some of its allies.

With the support of Julian Assange, Snowden left Hong Kong and flew to Russia, where, according to Vladimir Putin, he currently resides at the Moscow Airport Transit Zone, awaiting a flight to Ecuador to seek asylum. Wait!  Do readers find it ironic that he has chosen to trust yet another country known for its oppression of citizens that also uses an extensive system to spy on them?  Doesn't his behavior cast significant doubt on the purpose of his leaking classified information to the press?

His actions should serve as a wake-up call to all government agencies who allow contractors access to highly secret information.  The vetting process for contractors should be conducted by a company whose sole purpose is to do just that and has nothing to do with the hiring process.  Edward Snowden had no business working at the NSA, and his work record reflects no noteworthy accomplishments, which could have made a compelling case to hire him.

The United States has revoked his passport, so, he can't travel anywhere legally now.  Perhaps he will become the modern day "Man Without a Country," a fitting end to a misbegotten tale.