Whatever he may be, Snowden remains fascinating precisely because he proved to be the malfunctioning cog in the system.
![Snowden broke the rules and embarrassed some of the most powerful leaders in Washington, writes Turley [AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/20146962044284734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and has testified before Congress on the dangerous expansion of presidential powers.
Whatever he may be, Snowden remains fascinating precisely because he proved to be the malfunctioning cog in the system.
![Snowden broke the rules and embarrassed some of the most powerful leaders in Washington, writes Turley [AP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/20146962044284734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
More than 50 years after President Eisenhower’s warning, Americans find themselves in perpetual war.
![Perpetual war represents perpetual profits for the ever expanding business and government interests [AFP]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/20141481941766734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)
To compromise liberty for safety is the surest way not to have either.
![The greatest loss of constitutional powers has occurred under a former constitutional law professor, Barack Obama [Getty Images]](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/201310308290691734_20.jpeg?resize=270%2C180&quality=80)