Edward Snowden - closer to hero or bad actor?

[MADem]

27. I'd like to know if he visited the Russian consulate the

first time he visited Hong Kong as well.

He vacationed in HK before he ran there.

Or if he visited a Russian consulate in India. Or Thailand. Or Japan.

Or even Switzerland.

I think it's entirely possible that he was a Russian agent, turned years ago, and the only reason he ran--in a hurry--is because his security clearance was challenged (and that happens when one lies about one's education and other qualifications--those kinds of things are often re-checked at the ten year mark). He knew the game was over.

See these articles:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/10374032/CIA-suspicious-of-Edward-Snowden-years-ago.html

Would have been nice if the CIA had said something, I suppose...?

The CIA reportedly grew suspicious of Edward Snowden while he was working for the spy agency but failed to pass on a warning to the rest of the American government.
The New York Times reported that authorities grew concerned that Mr Snowden was trying to gain unauthorised access to classified intelligence while working undercover for the CIA in Switzerland in 2009.
His superiors reportedly noted their concerns in a report, saying that the 26-year-old's attitude and work habits had changed since he began his deployment.
But the CIA's red flags were reportedly not passed on and Mr Snowden was able to retain his security clearance and get a job as a contractor at the National Security Agency (NSA), where he went on to leak highly-classified US and British intelligence....One of Mr Snowden's superiors reportedly wrote down concerns in an internal derogatory report – known as "a derog" – but it did not meet the threshold for sharing with the rest of the intelligence community.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424127887324906304579039381125706104

WASHINGTON—The most recent background check of former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden was so inadequate that too few people were interviewed and potential concerns weren't pursued, according to a federal review following his leak of some of the nation's most closely guarded secrets.

The background checkers failed to verify Mr. Snowden's account of a past security violation and his work for the Central Intelligence Agency, they didn't thoroughly probe an apparent trip to India that he had failed to report, and they didn't get significant information from anyone who knew him beyond his mother and girlfriend, according to the review.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/11/us/cia-warning-on-snowden-in-09-said-to-slip-through-the-cracks.html?_r=0

WASHINGTON — Just as Edward J. Snowden was preparing to leave Geneva and a job as a C.I.A. technician in 2009, his supervisor wrote a derogatory report in his personnel file, noting a distinct change in the young man’s behavior and work habits, as well as a troubling suspicion.

The C.I.A. suspected that Mr. Snowden was trying to break into classified computer files to which he was not authorized to have access, and decided to send him home, according to two senior American officials.

I think his "Information Wants To Be Free" persona was a cover--a handy one, too, even though it butted up against his "leakers should be shot" attitude he professed when he was working in Switzerland.

I'd love to know what really motivated him. Money? Blackmail? Threats? I just don't think it's what he claims.