The World Says Yes To Snowden, No To Obama – OpEd
By Margaret Kimberley
Albanytribune.com
June 28, 2013
No one likes a bully and no one likes a liar. The United States government is surely both because other nations have no problem openly treating it with the disdain it deserves. The saga of Edward Snowden provides the latest proof of the disrespect that America has brought upon itself. Its tantrums and rants mean little to anyone outside of the USA bubble.
Snowden is the NSA whistle blower who presented proof to the world that the United States is a lawless nation which treats its own citizens as enemies. The response to his revelations proves that the American people have no friends in Washington, not in the White House or Congress or on either side of the political aisle.
After making his revelations public Snowden headed for Hong Kong apparently in the mistaken belief that there he would be protected from extradition. When the United States decided to charge him and suspended his passport he flew to Russia and officially asked Ecuador for asylum. After angry denunciations from the secretary of state, senators and butt kissing so-called journalists, Russian president Vladimir Putin made all their points moot when he announced that Snowden will not be turned over. He reminded the United States that Snowden has broken no Russian laws and that there is no extradition treaty between the two countries. Not content to merely say no, Putin got in a few digs of his own. Emphasizing that he didn’t wish to discuss the matter further he said, “It’s like shearing a piglet. There’s a lot of squealing and very little wool.”
The Chinese government was equally dismissive. After Secretary of State John Kerry issued public warnings of “negative consequences” to U.S./China relations, Chinese government spokeswoman Hua Chunying also got in her digs and reminded the United States that Snowden revealed evidence of American espionage directed at China. “I’d like to advise these people to hold up a mirror, reflect and take care of their own situation first.” Ouch.
It is striking that both China and Russia allowed Snowden to travel despite the government’s very public requests to prevent him from doing so. Both countries were quite happy to give America a very public comeuppance. It isn’t actually very surprising considering the belligerence with which our government has behaved.
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