National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden is officially in a Moscow airport as a "transit" passenger, Reuters reports.
Whatever "transit" means, the Federal Security Services (FSB) — once known as the KGB — will certainly stop by for a chat.
John Schindler, Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College, aptly notes that during the Cold War, the KGB's covert term for the NSA was "OMEGA," the highest Soviet intelligence priority — "in case you wondered how glad FSB is to see Snowden."
And the U.S. may have handed Moscow the means to detain Snowden while the FSB has their way with him.
The Obama administration's voiding of Snowden's passport may cause a snag as he tries to leave Russia for his "final" destination. Especially if he hasn't gotten a "transit" visa, the paperwork needed for using Russia as a stop-off to somewhere else.
An unnamed "well-informed source" who talked to Russian news agency Interfax noted that the voided passport may give Moscow a pretense to detain Snowden in order to "establish the circumstances" of his arrival.
The FSB would likely separate Snowden from his belongings while he's "interviewed." The lack of a passport gives them the cover they need to rifle through those belongings for anything useful.
Apparently, there's quite a bit that could be useful.
“[NSA Officials] think he copied so much stuff — that almost everything that place does, he has,” one former government official, referring to the NSA, told The Post. “Everyone’s nervous about what the next thing will be, what will be exposed.”
Ouch, now he's in arm's reach of the FSB; that can't be good.
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