> So my answer to this question of legitimacy was that, "they just legitimize it themselves, with their rhetoric on 'terrors'". That answer would work if NSA w

> So my answer to this question of legitimacy was that, "they just legitimize it themselves, with their rhetoric on 'terrors'". That answer would work if NSA was created after 9/11 or as part of the PATRIOT act or whatever. What was the NSA doing before? And don't you think NSA would still be doing that? My point is that NSA doesn't need terrorism to legitimize their operations. The reasons NSA came in to existence in the first place is still relevant and enough to legitimize itself.