Dutch intelligence services do whatever US asks: Snowden

Dutch intelligence services do whatever the National Security Agency (NSA) of the United States tells them to do, and the Americans see the Dutch as "subordinates" who always provide "unlimited access," disclosed Edward Snowden in an excerpt of an interview with Dutch press made public on Wednesday afternoon.

Snowden made these remarks regarding the Dutch intelligence services AIVD (General Intelligence and Security Service) and MIVD (Military Intelligence and Security Service). The full interview will be broadcast by Dutch broadcaster NOS on Wednesday night and published in Dutch daily newspaper de Volkskrant Thursday morning.

In the excerpt, Snowden said the US relationship with almost all European intelligence services is good, but only a few of them are feared by the Americans; the French secret service, for example.

"The Dutch services are much less respected. They are not valued because of their capacities, but because of the free pass they offer," he said.

Snowden reaffirmed his doubts over the effectiveness of massive wiretapping. "When we look at the Paris attacks specifically, we see that France passed one of the most intrusive, expensive surveillance laws in all of Europe last year and it did not stop the attack. This is consistent with what we have seen in every country...The problem with 'mass surveillance' is that you are burying people under far too much data," he said.

In the full interview, Snowden will also discuss the new Dutch intelligence laws and the call for new capacity regarding tapping, as well as his personal situation in Moscow, announced the Dutch press.

Snowden came to international attention in June 2013 after disclosing thousands of classified documents that he acquired while working as an NSA contractor. In August 2014, he was granted a one-year asylum by the Russian government.