While getting my weekly dose of the Sunday morning news shows, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry watching some of the pundits and politicos bemoan Russia's role in the U.S. snooping community's Edward Snowden Fiasco.
One wonk wailed over Vladimir Putin's propensity to "stick it" to the United States; in this case, allowing the rogue U.S. National Security Agency contractor to pass through Moscow on his way to seeking refuge at one of the bastions of left-wing politics in Latin America. This was "not the behavior of an ally."
With Putin exercising an iron grip at the helm of the Kremlin for more than a dozen years, it's shocking there are still U.S. foreign policy prognosticators who do not understand how he wields power.
As is fitting for a Russian leader, Putin is a character who literally stepped out of the pages of an epic co-written by Niccolo Machievelli, Leo Tolstoy and Ian Flemming. Putin is a former KGB officer and the strongman ruler of a strong nation. Like Machievelli's prince, Putin is only an ally to the extent that it serves the interests of his country and his ability to rule.
The Kremlin's decision to give Snowden at least temporary refuge on Russian soil is just Putin being Putin. It was surely an irresistible opportunity: a chance to gain access to the man responsible for one of the biggest breaches of national security in U.S. history and to remind Washington that it is not the only powerful player on the world stage.
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