dynam_mo is absolutely wrong in that nothing changed as a result of Snowdens actions. (sorry buddy
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One thing certainly changed that very day. That is that every intelligence agency in the world revisited Rule Number One: "Don't Get Caught" and modified their policies and procedures to make sure they don't have a similar incident.
Some of you people, particularly Europeans are so fucking naive about how the world works when it comes to matters of state intelligence, that its gone past amusing and right into scary.
The only thing that is different about the US and say Iceland or Iran or any other nation is capability, not the desire, will and determination to do the same.
And pretending Snowden's outing of documents somehow led to some sort of revelation is pathetically stupid. From Echelon to Carnivore to Omnivore to to every other wide scale gathering of data THAT EQUALLY INVOLVED EU NATIONS AND THEIR ACTIVE PARTICIPATION that has been happening for decades, is nothing new. It's all just more of the same. As is the one other constant in intelligence as we witness now in the news... the feigned, self righteous indignation expressed by politicians, when it goes wrong.
Nothing will change.
Intelligence is as older than civilization itself and a vital component to the functioning and enduring success of a state. Intelligence agencies have to operate in the dark because those they protect are exceedingly naive and ignorant and have a very imperfect understanding of the scale and scope of the threats a large nation, be they political, economic or military/security which they must deal with.