The value of the state visit photo-op

The all-smiles Paris meeting of French President Francois Hollande with Bolivian President Evo Morales in March wasn't enough to ensure that Morales' official plane could get through French airspace yesterday, on account of an apparently unfounded suspicion that Edward Snowden was on it.

Forcing planes, especially small ones, to divert after they've taken off is dangerous.

Photo: Elysee Palace.