A worldwide media frenzy has turned the plight of the rogue American intelligence analyst Edward Snowden into something resembling a John le Carré novel, full of suspense and intrigue.

Whose spy is he?

Will he be able to outmaneuver the National Security Agency as it attempts to force him to return to the United States to stand trial on charges of theft and espionage? And what will U.S. President Barack Obama say to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, at their scheduled September meeting in Moscow — where Snowden was given a year's asylum after he was in limbo for more than five weeks at Sheremetyevo Airport?