1. The Guardian

No government or bureaucracy loves a whistle-blower. Those who leak official information will often be denounced, prosecuted or smeared ... Edward Snowden ... is unlikely to be surprised at the clamour to have him locked up for life, or to have seen himself denounced as a traitor ... Snowden's almost certain motive for speaking out was far removed from anything resembling espionage, sedition or anti-Americanism ... America is blessed with a first amendment which ... affords a considerable measure of protection to free speech. But the Obama administration has shown a dismaying aggression in not only criminalising leaking and whistle-blowing, but also placing reporters under surveillance. London

2. Chicago Sun-Times

Edward Snowden should be chased down and put on trial for leaking state secrets ... it does not matter that the secrets ... should not have been secrets to begin with, such as the National Security Agency's wholesale tracking of Americans' cellphone calls. We readily agree that the public should be better informed ... about when and how government pokes around in our private lives. But ... clandestine investigative work, by the likes of the NSA and the CIA, is essential to our nation's safety ... Snowden leaked that the NSA is gathering phone records. Good for him, say his defenders. But would they be so admiring if Snowden had, say, leaked the names of American spies working in dangerous places? Chicago