White House considering whether to proceed with Obama-Putin summit after Snowden's asylum

[The Straight Story]

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House considering whether to proceed with Obama-Putin summit after Snowden's asylum.

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/white-house-considering-whether-proceed-obama-putin-summit-after-snowdens-asylum

[Swede Atlanta]

1. If he cancels he will be behaving like a Republican....

Pout when they don't get their way.

We have many, many issues to discuss with Russia that go way beyond the Snowden issue. Syria, North Korea, etc. come immediately to mind. Let's not waste opportunities to work together on some important issues because we disagree with Russia on this one. We are so used to getting our way that we pout when we don't get it.

No doubt there will be a chorus from Congress, Dems and Pukes alike, calling for a boycott of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. We use our athletes that have trained so hard all their young lives to qualify and represent their country as political pawns. If this happens I will be more than a bit outraged.

[razorman]

2. I like Senator Schumer's idea of having President Obama

request that the location of the G20 summit be moved from Moscow. The risk in that, though, is that the Europeans might refuse to do so, which would embarrass the president even further. Once in a while, European leaders like to show their people that they are not "puppets" of the U.S., and can tell our president "no". They like to do this regardless of which party currently leads the U.S. government.

[mick063]

3. Yes, but the Olympics are still on.

So is arming opposite sides in Syria.


Only Snowden is important enough for such a snub.


Our diplomatic priority is very revealing.

[bigtree]

4. it's a frickin joke to think that Washington and Russia don't share similar concerns about Snowden

I suspect that the US is worried what Snowden will reveal to the Russians who will definitely bug him to the sound of his breathing.

I also suspect that there's a bit of relief that they've got Snowden in the loose custody of such a restrictive regime. This is nothing Snowden, or those concerned with his welfare, should be sanguine about. These two governments have worked together before to squeeze operatives and agents many times in the past. This is a very dangerous time for the fellow.

I believe he should get some sort of whistleblower protection granted to him, but I'm not sure our security state has a legislature which will respect his rights and afford him safe passage back without some sort of backdoor deal with the US. Russia's no friend of Snowden.