The USA, and by extension the three-letter agencies the implement it's policy has often been viewed as the World's policeman. If that's the case (and here we a

The USA, and by extension the three-letter agencies the implement it's policy has often been viewed as the World's policeman. If that's the case (and here we are about to stick our nose in Syria where it doesn't really belong), then it's time we started acting like real police. There's a whole bunch of rules for how police are supposed to act, how they determine suspects, how the collect evidence, and so on. It is well past time for the national agencies like the NSA to operate within clear (and public) guidelines similar to that. Then, if the NSA hires people who are loyal to the rules and the ideals of the work (rather than because of nationality or institutional loyalty), then it can operate effectively, without much fear of leakers like Snowden and Manning. I have no idea what it would take to reform these big institutions though. And I fear for the damage they (and those who oppose them) will cause before they are replaced by more effective agencies who are based around the old ideals of "Truth, Justice, and the American Way".