THE SNOWDEN DEBATE

A couple of weeks ago the President was wringing his hands about the possible harm NSA defector Edward Snowden might do to our country as long as he is loose..and in Russia.

About the same time the President was rejecting pleas for clemency for Snowden.

Sir, with respect, these do NOT compute.

If we want to limit further damage to our NSA program (beyond what that agency has done to itself by snooping illegally on many of us!), then the first priority is to get him out of Russia.

The second priority is to get him into US custody…or something very similar..UK, Canada, etc.

This can ONLY be done…barring Russia going back on its agreement with Snowden, by entering into talks with Snowden’s legal advisers and agreeing to some compromise.

No death penalty, for example, which some of our 110% “patriots” would like. A limited prison term quite likely (for he has broken the law…as did a few others in our recent history and who were welcome back in time.)  An agreement to release no more secrets, which the President has said he wants. Possibly even some “expert” advice from Mr. Snowden on patching holes in our cyber and security systems.

All of this makes sense to me...and I hope our government is in negotiations now to accomplish his return. While it is clear he did break some laws  (and maybe…maybe..there was another way to accomplish his stated goal to letting the American people know about the massive spying on their private lives by the Biggest Brother in the world...our own government, still I believe the “good” he has done in waking all of us up to government snooping..which even the NSA has admitted in some cases was illegal… warrants some type of clemency for him.

May the negotiations succeed..let’s bring him home..traitor to some, hero to others..and the truth IS out there..probably somewhere in between.

I'm just sayin'...