this implies the government is a monolithic entity that decides everything. This is why we have elections and a separation of legislative and executive branche

this implies the government is a monolithic entity that decides everything. This is why we have elections and a separation of legislative and executive branches. This is why Congress holds hearings on intelligence. The Church Committee happened, after all. And the courts can tell the NSA to not do things, and it (mostly) happens. The incentives are mostly aligned, but the people being voted in seem to disagree with the idea that government whistleblowers need as much protection.