And you seem to be conflating dragnet surveillance with intelligence/counter-intelligence programs. Obama stated in this speech that the purpose of this type of

And you seem to be conflating dragnet surveillance with intelligence/counter-intelligence programs. Obama stated in this speech that the purpose of this type of surveillance isn't to spy on potentially hostile nations, but to spy on individuals or small networks of individuals. Torture is another great way of ousting terrorist plots which other nations incorporate into their intelligence gathering process. We choose not to do this because it is unethical and has too much potential for abuse. I see no reason to think that this same logic shouldn't be applied to the dragnet surveillance of the entire planet.