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> In the case of such a broad surveillance system, I'm having trouble coming up with good secret reasons. Perhaps I'm being unimaginative. If, for example, this

by d23 13y ago

> In the case of such a broad surveillance system, I'm having trouble coming up with good secret reasons. Perhaps I'm being unimaginative. If, for example, this system was preventing hundreds of terrorists, what damage would be done by stating that it has unequivocally stopped major threats? What if it had prevented a biological weapon that could have killed millions of people in NYC? Revealing this publicly could cause mass panic. Obviously I have no evidence of something like this, but it's a thought experiment to consider. Would that make the surveillance worth it in your mind?

MichaelGG 13y ago
Obviously giving specifics might cause panic, but, I'm not sure I see the problem in having e.g. Obama state "Unequivocally, there has been major threats thwarted, and considerable lives saved due to this program." Or some assertion recognizing that yeah, this is a 180 from my prior, but there's a good reason, seriously. The thing is, I don't think anyone is claiming major successes. They're just saying that it's OK. Watching Obama's talk just gives you the feeling it's political nonsense, with a bit of CYA lines too.