Most Popular
1. Banking Crisis is Stocks Bull Market Buying Opportunity - Nadeem_Walayat
2.The Crypto Signal for the Precious Metals Market - P_Radomski_CFA
3. One Possible Outcome to a New World Order - Raymond_Matison
4.Nvidia Blow Off Top - Flying High like the Phoenix too Close to the Sun - Nadeem_Walayat
5. Apple AAPL Stock Trend and Earnings Analysis - Nadeem_Walayat
6.AI, Stocks, and Gold Stocks – Connected After All - P_Radomski_CFA
7.Stock Market CHEAT SHEET - - Nadeem_Walayat
8.US Debt Ceiling Crisis Smoke and Mirrors Circus - Nadeem_Walayat
9.Silver Price May Explode - Avi_Gilburt
10.More US Banks Could Collapse -- A Lot More- EWI
Last 7 days
US Presidential Election Cycle and Recessions - 18th Mar 24
US Recession Already Happened in 2022! - 18th Mar 24
AI can now remember everything you say - 18th Mar 24
Bitcoin Crypto Mania 2024 - MicroStrategy MSTR Blow off Top! - 14th Mar 24
Bitcoin Gravy Train Trend Forecast 2024 - 11th Mar 24
Gold and the Long-Term Inflation Cycle - 11th Mar 24
Fed’s Next Intertest Rate Move might not align with popular consensus - 11th Mar 24
Two Reasons The Fed Manipulates Interest Rates - 11th Mar 24
US Dollar Trend 2024 - 9th Mar 2024
The Bond Trade and Interest Rates - 9th Mar 2024
Investors Don’t Believe the Gold Rally, Still Prefer General Stocks - 9th Mar 2024
Paper Gold Vs. Real Gold: It's Important to Know the Difference - 9th Mar 2024
Stocks: What This "Record Extreme" Indicator May Be Signaling - 9th Mar 2024
My 3 Favorite Trade Setups - Elliott Wave Course - 9th Mar 2024
Bitcoin Crypto Bubble Mania! - 4th Mar 2024
US Interest Rates - When WIll the Fed Pivot - 1st Mar 2024
S&P Stock Market Real Earnings Yield - 29th Feb 2024
US Unemployment is a Fake Statistic - 29th Feb 2024
U.S. financial market’s “Weimar phase” impact to your fiat and digital assets - 29th Feb 2024
What a Breakdown in Silver Mining Stocks! What an Opportunity! - 29th Feb 2024
Why AI will Soon become SA - Synthetic Intelligence - The Machine Learning Megatrend - 29th Feb 2024
Keep Calm and Carry on Buying Quantum AI Tech Stocks - 19th Feb 24

Market Oracle FREE Newsletter

How to Protect your Wealth by Investing in AI Tech Stocks

Where Might the NSA Whistleblower, Edward Snowden Be Relatively Safe?

Politics / Intelligence Agencies Jun 27, 2013 - 04:23 PM GMT

By: Don_Miller

Politics

By Nick Giambruno, Editor, International Man

The recent events surrounding Edward Snowden, the NSA whistleblower, gives us the chance to engage in an interesting thought experiment.

Where would you go if you were Edward Snowden and were being hunted by the most powerful intelligence agencies on the planet?


Now of course this is a farfetched scenario for most of us, which is why this is only a thought experiment. On the other hand, with individuals like Bernard von NotHaus, the Liberty Dollar founder (a gold- and silver-backed private currency) being labeled by the US government as "domestic terrorists," maybe the situation isn't so implausible.

An important criterion that we should look for in a country is whether or not it has an extradition treaty with the US.

An extradition treaty is a legal mechanism that countries use to transfer people to another country for numerous reasons. The terms and conditions of extradition treaties vary due to the circumstances of each individual case and also from country to country. Some countries (like France and Brazil) will not extradite their own citizens no matter what.

Generally speaking, in order for extradition to be successful, the suspected criminal act must not be political in nature, it must be recognized as a crime in both jurisdictions, and the suspect must not be in danger of receiving the death penalty or torture if transferred.

Absent a formal extradition treaty, transferring individuals becomes much more difficult but certainly not impossible.

Countries with No US Extradition Treaty

Afghanistan Ethiopia Nepal
Algeria Gabon Niger
Andorra Guinea North Korea
Angola Guinea-Bissau Oman
Armenia Indonesia Qatar
Bahrain Iran Russia
Bangladesh Kazakhstan Rwanda
Belarus Kosovo Samoa
Bhutan Kuwait São Tomé & Príncipe
Bosnia and Herzegovina Laos Saudi Arabia
Brunei Lebanon Senegal
Burkina Faso Libya Serbia
Burundi Macedonia Somalia
Cambodia Madagascar Sudan
Cameroon the Maldives Syria
Cape Verde Mali Taiwan
the Central African Republic the Marshall Islands Togo
Chad Mauritania Tunisia
China Micronesia Uganda
Comoros Moldova Ukraine
Dem. Republic of the Congo Mongolia United Arab Emirates
Cote d' Ivoire Montenegro Uzbekistan
Cuba Morocco Vanuatu
Djibouti Mozambique the Vatican
Equatorial Guinea Myanmar Vietnam
Eritrea Namibia Yemen

The following countries have extradition treaties, but have shown that they will not always comply with US requests: Bolivia, Ecuador, Iceland, Nicaragua, Switzerland, Venezuela, and Zimbabwe.

Hong Kong, the jurisdiction that Snowden first chose, does indeed have an extradition treaty with the US. At this point, Snowden appears to be banking on avoiding extradition by seeking asylum and arguing that his so-called crimes are political in nature. With Snowden currently in limbo in a transit zone in the Sheremetyevo Airport in Moscow – which is "not technically in Russia", according to President Putin – while long-term asylum options are explored, he may be technically freer since there's no extradition treaty, but his presence adds a lot of political pressure to an already delicate relationship.

Escaping to a non-extradition treaty country does not mean that you are home free, but rather will put you at the mercy of your new hosts. You could become a pawn in a larger game and traded away for concessions. The political sands are always shifting, and tomorrow's government may be more accommodative toward the US.

You could also be rendered (kidnapped) by the CIA and brought back to the US without the host government's consent, or fall within the sights of an armed drone. There certainly is no shortage of ways for the US government to hurt you no matter where you are.

While a drone strike on Snowden is currently highly unlikely, some more realistic measures the US government will likely take include canceling Snowden's US passport and cutting off access to his US bank accounts.

Snowden could have better prepared himself for these and related measures, had he established some offshore investments and researched the relative friendliness of other countries with the US. Internationalizing one's assets and life is a prudent and legal way for anyone to escape the increasing control countries are placing their citizens under. As the ongoing Snowden saga demonstrates, it's never to early to prepare.

All the issues involved in internationalizing can seem overwhelming to one just beginning. Our handbook, Going Global 2013, is full of specific, actionable advice on virtually every aspect of the process. You'll learn how to choose from where to get a second passport and how much money (and time) it's likely to take; how to legally open offshore financial accounts; the best places for stashing precious metals; and much, much more. Get the details and get started on internationalizing your wealth and life today.

© 2013 Copyright Casey Research - All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer: The above is a matter of opinion provided for general information purposes only and is not intended as investment advice. Information and analysis above are derived from sources and utilising methods believed to be reliable, but we cannot accept responsibility for any losses you may incur as a result of this analysis. Individuals should consult with their personal financial advisors.

Casey Research Archive

© 2005-2022 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.


Post Comment

Only logged in users are allowed to post comments. Register/ Log in