While I agree life isn't an action movie, perhaps the long list of Iraqi scientists being assassinated or the even longer list of Russian, North Korean or Chinese dissidents being done away with seems to be a very simple thing for those oppressive, murderous regimes to do without much interference.

And what has anybody ever done about it? Maybe sent out a few strongly worded memos, if anything at all.

None of those people have anything remotely like the global profile Snowden created with his actions. It's not really comparable to a no-name nuclear scientist getting assassinated.