I think he understated it, and your "wrong" is too strong. The main point is people had to actually step up, and when Snowden did this, we had some truth for a bit.

I disagree. The statement 'all it took was...' addresses one part of his life which many people change with some regularity. A career.

Snowden is currently in political exile and probably closely monitored, likely for the rest of his life. US congressmen have openly called for his assassination. If he were to return to this country it's highly likely he would spend the rest of his life in a federal prison, at best.

Please explain how 'all it took was for someone to burn their career' isn't utterly misconstruing the cost being addressed?

> willing to burn their career to provide the proof.

This should have been the case as in normal whistleblower cases. Seems it was not. I also suspect that Russia will eventually try and call the favor to coerce him to do something for them

EDIT: had no idea this would be so negatively viewed. If you're going to down vote please indicate what you're against...

Him being there makes Russia look more tolerant than his home country.. Which is already a Pretty big bonus.

His continued reliance on Russia gives them more than enough power to force his hand into something he may not otherwise do.

what might he do? write another book? he doesn't have any power besides moral authority and he cannot travel internationally

how does giving asylum to a defector from an adversary make russia look tolerant? don't you think the US would happily do the same thing if the tables were turned?

The US routinely does the same, and they generally receive some amount of praise from the population as a result. The same thing would happen in Russia.

At this point is there a compelling heuristic we can use to determine if Snowden is an idealistic whistleblower or simply a Russian intelligence asset? The facts seem to support both interpretations.

The facts absolutely do not support either interpretation. The only reason Snowden is in Russia is that the US canceled his passport.

They revoked his passport because he's a fugitive, formally charged with two counts of violating the Espionage Act. I think the reason he's Russia is that they don't have an extradition treaty with the United States.

he was stuck in the moscow airport (for over a month) after his passport was cancelled en route to equador and was eventually granted asylum

This sounds like some sort of nutty conspiracy theory.

What possible use could Snowden provide Russia?

I'm not certain at this point. His skills? His voice/platform? for example if he were to come forth and say something plausible but false many would just believe him.

He has a fairly small number of supporters, very few of which hold any power, and are some of the most aware of government interference. Russia will be fine with what they (presumably) already coerce him to do, pay taxes.

And as for why your post was down voted, you stated that a whistleblower should lose their career for their uncovering the truth.