Today Vladimir Putin, doing his best straight-face, mentioned that in order to stay in Russia, Snowden must stop leaking information. Images of a gleeful, yet restrained Putin conjure up memories from the speech featured in Sasha Baron Cohen's The Dictator in which the titular character has trouble holding his own laughter while addressing the West. One has to assume Putin is loving this situation, as this major stroke of political luck not only allows Putin to stick his finger in the eyes of his Western allies over their support of the Syrian Rebels, but also now gives him a profound diplomatic bargaining chip as well. I am sure we have no doubt that comrade Putin will put his thumb down on Snowden, right?
If the 2008 fiscal collapse wasn't a sign, this ever-changing situation just helps to illustrate interconnected we are in this world and how one country's peccadilloes can quickly spread to others, with dubious results. This is a nightmare scenario for the Obama administration, as concerns of Russia obtaining classified information surely come to mind. Needless to say, the Snowden saga does not appear to be ending anytime soon and the stakes were just upped now that a vengeful Putin has his hands on the NSA leaker.
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