Missing the Aeroflot

Oh, ho, ho, irony! Oh, no, no, we don't get that here.

--C.D. Bales to Roxanne

Whatever else, one can't fault Edward Snowden in the irony department;

MOSCOW (AP) — A plane took off from Moscow on Monday headed for Cuba, but the seat booked byNational Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden was empty, and there was no sign of him elsewhere on board. His whereabouts were unknown.

Had he gotten to Cuba, his whereabouts would definitely have been known...to Cuban intelligence services. They don't let anyone escape their attention while there. As Chilean diplomat Jorge Edwards described the experience in his memoir Persona non Grata;

I was very much affected by the feeling of being watched by the police at all times, and this had gone so far as to cause me persistent insomnia and physical difficulty in breathing, together with pains in the chest and the sensation of being on the point of having a heart attack.

And he was protected by diplomatic immunity! The CIA and State Department ought to leave no stone unturned in facilitating Snowden's entry into Cuba; he become a real expert on surveillance there.