President Barack Obama says National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden is not a patriot for revealing widespread government surveillance programmes. Obama says he called for a review of the secret surveillance programmes before details of documents Snowden leaked to reporters were publicised in June. He says Snowden's disclosures prompted a faster and more passionate response than if Obama had just appointed a board to review the policies.Speaking to reporters on Friday, Obama said he wants more oversight of the intelligence community's surveillance programs to strike a balance between protecting Americans' safety and their privacy.