> Sounds like the NSA who couldn't point to a single instance of stopping any type of terrorist attack/operation despite collecting anything they could get their hands on.
This can’t be true - there are plenty of sources citing foiled plots and we see similar publications from other governments (EU and beyond) citing similar justifications. A quick google yields:
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/nsa-director-50-potential-te...
https://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/nsa-leak-keith-alexan...
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/gchq-foiled-terr...