Great debate guys.Ive enjoyed reading your thoughts and opinions on this matter.As for my two cents,i'll keep it short and sweet.
I dont think Rocco was the traitor.As others have pointed out,it would be a little silly giving Rocco so much freedom around the compound after the attempted hit on Michael.Michael was a mastermind remember.I think he would have come up with something better than biding his time with Rocco for so long and then sending him on a "suicide mission".Rocco obviously thought that after he wacks Roth that yes,its gonna be difficult getting away but not impossible.
This is a very enjoyable debate indeed.
Let me say that I think the Aussie-Turnbull-Olivant-Don Cardi, et al. argument is plausible. I don't deny that it could be right. Obviously I favor my own theory, but reasonable people can disagree, after all.
Now I don't see why it is "silly" for the mastermind Michael to give Rocco "so much freedom around the compound after the attempted hit," as you put it. Keep in mind these two crucial points:
1) After the attempted hit, Michael has nothing to worry about a traitor roaming free on the compound, because he, Michael, is not there. He's in Miami, then Cuba. Nothing silly here.
2) When the Havana operation fails, his worries about getting whacked by one of his own men (on Roth's order) are completely gone. Indeed, what would be silly is for one of Michael's men to whack him for Roth
at this point. Why? The tide has turned: Michael is on top, Roth is "on the run," he's lost. A traitor will be a traitor for "business" reasons, i.e. the other boss can give me more than my own boss. With this in mind it is clear that at this point in the movie Michael has no worries that one of his own guys will whack him for Roth. There is nothing for the traitor to gain, and everything to lose. Notice also that at this point in the movie the compound no longer looks like an army base -- Fredo and Anthony are out fishing and having fun, etc.
