Americans are no safer for having read my emails IT has been a full year since US federal agents snooped through the private emails of my husband and me, setting in motion a series of events that ultimately led to the resignations of CIA director David Petraeus and General John Allen, the commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan. The anniversary is a sombre reminder of the unintended consequences and harsh realities that can result from unrestrained government probing into Americans' personal communications. More recent revelations of National Security Agency spying suggest the US government's invasion of citizens' privacy is increasingly common.