I think you are confusing military and civil intelligence, which is not terribly surprising, because they are increasingly being blurred, but it it important to

I think you are confusing military and civil intelligence, which is not terribly surprising, because they are increasingly being blurred, but it it important to keep in mind. The NSA, at least on the margin, does not care about convictions. Their mandate has nothing to do with law enforcement. You're right that metadata is often much more operationally important than the message. But the DEA-style parallel-construction corruption is a hobby business for the NSA.