THERE has not yet been the necessary discussion about the revelations by whistleblower Edward Snowden of the extent of the surveillance internationally by the US intelligence services.

Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, compared it with the attempts by Stasi to identify serious opposition inside the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) where she lived.

US surveillance is not as poisonous as in the former GDR where relatives and friends reported to the authorities about one another and so it must have been difficult to decide who one could trust.

Our legitimate concern is about the accountability of state agencies who gather intelligence on our activities. I don’t think this has been properly addressed, and I think what Mr Snowden was wanting to bring to the attention of US citizens has been overlooked. There has been too much a tendency to see his activities as some sort of treason.

It is incongruous that he seeks haven in Russia of all places.

I think there is a paranoia abroad suspecting hostility sometimes when it does not really exist and it prevents authorities from seeing things clearly and rationally.

There are some whose intentions are indeed hostile but not everyone is plotting against us.

Geoff Blumer, Billingham