Two years ago Edward Snowden exposed NSA global mass surveillance. This was very important – revealing the hidden politics of US, UK and other countries.

But, as a matter of fact, much that was exposed in the Snowden files was known earlier. Known, but without real impact. What Snowden did was to verify this information — forcing the media to report and politicians to react (in a good or bad way).

For some 30-40 years journalist Duncan Campbell has reported on UK surveillance and shady intelligence operations. He is maybe best known for his work on ECHELON — the global surveillance network, which existence was hard to believe even for civil rights activists. But it turned out he was right. And today, what he told us then is confirmed in the Snowden files. (Read the Duncan Campbell story here. »)

The late Caspar Bowden exposed US mass surveillance warned the European Parliament about the NSA PRISM programme a year ahead of Snowden blowing the whistle. (Video ») But nobody seems to have taken his warnings seriously enough.

In the US and UK there where scores of whistleblowers before Snowden. (You can listen to some of them in the excellent PBS documentary United States of Secrets. »)

But the mass surveillance controversy didn’t really take off until Snowden.

It had to be done in a very public and newsworthy way. It ment that the whistleblower in question had to leave his life behind and risk everything. It had to involve brave journalists, steadfast publishers and some large media corporations. It had to be done openly, with maximal transparency and standing up to people in powerful positions.

The Snowden files are still very important. But slowly this affair is fading away. The NSA, GCHQ & Co has moved on, developed new methods and adopted to (or circumvented) new rules.

Today, we need more whistleblowers. And we need them to step forward the Snowden way — grabbing the world by the balls.

This is one reason it is so sad that no western democracy seems to be willing to grant Edward Snowden asylum. Because, frankly, who really wants to be stuck in Putins Russia? It must be possible to expose the truth and have a future here in the West.

Surely, there must be some politicians in some country willing to stand up for truth, transparency and democratic core values. Or..?

/ HAX