There are things that go on in the shadows. We know that they go on, but don’t want to put the spotlight on them.

A computer facility exists. We know this. We hack away. The Chinese know that we know. But we make-believe that we don’t know and the Chinese make-believe that they believe that we don’t know, but know that we know. Everybody knows.

That Snowden has gone and claimed to have provided this kind of details shows that he’s not the hero or saint that they’d wish him to be. He’s far removed from hero, and definitely isn’t sainted.

There’s still the question of confirming that he indeed knows/saw this information - and how the NSA will plug this particular leak (reforming the classified status system as kirkspenser has suggested most recently as yesterday comes to mind), but it also raises questions about his motivations and intentions.