That's because you're making the mistake of believing them that what they're doing is monitoring or attacking terrorists most of the time. But it's not. Most of

That's because you're making the mistake of believing them that what they're doing is monitoring or attacking terrorists most of the time. But it's not. Most of the time, their spying capabilities are used against stuff like this or against innocent people, who the government doesn't like. That's really why they want to keep this power, and they don't have a good reason for keeping it, or at least not one they can say in public. That's why Clapper keeps saying "ok, we haven't foiled any terrorist attack - but trust us it's really important to keep it!". They know they can't just come out and say "hey, we need this to spy on allied politicians, judges, corporations, and other people you might think are innocent, but are really pissing us off, like many of the activists do".