Whistleblower or traitor?

I say Traitor.

He can either come home and face trial, or stay with his pal Putin, perhaps even seek asylum in the Ukraine. Or I’m sure he can find someone who will give him asylum. Perhaps in China or Venezuela or Cuba, or even Iran.

There’s a funny thing about civil disobedience. It ceases to be a noble and heroic act when you don’t turn yourself in to the authorities you have accused and stand trial for your actions.

Remember that story we all had to read in high school, “The Man Without a Country”, by Edward Everett Hale? It’s about a US officer exiled forever for renouncing the United States. He is condemned to spend the rest of his life aboard US Navy ships, treated with the courtesy and respect due his rank, but never allowed to see, or hear news of his country, again.