Psychological Sketch and Motivational Speculation
Snowden is currently seeking asylum in Hong Kong
As the United States and the world try to wrap their collective heads around exactly what it is that Edward Snowden did and why diverging opinions of him have arisen. I’m not going to touch the controversy surrounding the implications of his actions. For the most part every American has to decide that for their selves. There is no understating that the stunning revelations about the US Government ‘s ongoing, somewhat venerable and undeniably vast Data Mining Program, where trolling through meta data of millions of phone calls may be the tip of a larger iceberg.
Thumbnail Bio-
Snowden didn’t complete High School. He’s a tech nerd. I would speculate that poor social skills were the biggest factor into his dropping out. Whether he never showed up, couldn’t perform on tests or merely had ADD, all show some level of social ineptitude.
Next Snowden spent about a year in the US Army but took a medical discharge after breaking both his legs. I’m no medical doctor but I do know most of the time in young people full recovery from a broken leg is the expected outcome. Maybe he had 2 compound fractures and just couldn’t deal, not a whole lot is known about this yet. It DOES mirror his inability to finish High School.
Snowdens Girlfriend; not the worst thing to come home to by a long shot
We now know that Snowden, who passed an in depth background check to work as a contractor for an outside firm doing work for the National Security Agency, which runs the Data Trolling Program. Just like High School and the military Snowden ended up leaving under nefarious circumstances. He had shown a propensity for the grandiose by apparently claiming to make about double his acknowledged pay of $122,000 a year.
Snowden threw away his career, his citizenship and his reputations such as it was. He also left behind what I would call a pretty damn hot girlfriend. Would seem to be a life, in beautiful Hawaii, birthplace of our current president; that most of us would probably want to hold into.
Theories on Snowden Motives-
Theory 1 – He’s a dedicated Libertarian who truly believes in what he’s doing
This is always possible. There have numerous people in the past who have been lauded (after being vilified) for exposing secret government information in the past. The Pentagon Papers would be the most well-known example after the Wikileaks scandal.
Ask Ron or Rand Paul and they will tell you they will gladly pay his airfare home and try to protect Snowden, possibly getting him immunity. Snowden has said just yesterday he was prepared to let Hong Kong courts decide his fate, so he’s certainly not looking to face an American court if he can get around it. Certainly he lacks the sort of Courage of his Convictions displayed by Bradley Manning, who is a far more sympathetic figure.
Theory 2- He’s a Bi-Polar Madman
Could Snowden be a bi-polar madman in a world of his own?
Emotions, traits and feelings displayed by Snowden in the interviews I have seen so far could described as erratic, unpredictable, unfocused, impulsive and grandiose. There’s some from the NSA and other sources saying he massively overstated the scope of his powers. Indeed, being granted the closest thing to omnipotence seems unlikely. He has claimed to have had the ability to know everything about the whereabouts of every NSA Operative. The only thing keeping people from scoffing is that an even younger and far less well financially compensated Bradley Manning also had very high clearance despite holding to the lowest rank in the Unites States Military.
Don’t discount the fact the guy may just be a little nuts. Picking up and moving away from everything you know is pretty damn extreme. Bi-Polar High? This is something we’ll probably never know for sure, but the traits are somewhat manifest. Doubtless he is fully engaged in a Messiah Complex or feelings of Martyrdom for freedom and privacy.
He may cycle back to low and give himself up if this theory is correct.
The Real McTeag Theory- ‘Honey-Potted’ and Flipped by the Red Chinese
Here’s a guy who was a classic underachiever. He was young, had some jack, a measure of success, and a pretty cute girlfriend he could only kind of commit to (it’s not like they were engaged). Social ineptitude held him back. His bosses had plumbed the depth of his soul before he got Top Secret Clearance. Despite this neither his employers nor his girlfriend seem to have really known the guy.
Enter other factor such as the Cyber War that’s going on between the United States and China. The two nation’s presidents met and discussed that very topic (among other things) just last week. It’s an existential war, going on for real. It’s being fought by computer nerds like Snowden and their Chinese counterparts. Why WOULDN’T this cat and mouse game, like all espionage, not go to the next level? Namely- traditional spying complete with gadgets and guns.
Honey Potting is a way to flip, trap or otherwise manipulate a potential source. As far back as Samson and Delilah men have done unbelievably stupid and self-destructive things for beautiful women. In the soulless world of espionage this is a lot better than getting grabbed up and tortured and its great publicity too. The US has a huge PR problem, maybe to the point of handcuffing its own cyber espionage, and China uses Hong Kong as a front for protecting him.
It doesn’t take a lot of imagination. At some point an Asian goddess (or a couple of them) approached the permanently disaffected Snowden and gave him the ride of his life. One thing led to another and Snowden is thinking he’s James Bond. He is promised money, fame and political asylum.
I am also pretty sold on Theory 2, Bi-Polar madman. I think this led him to be an easy target for the Chinese to “flip”.
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