Surprised no one has pointed out the worst of Brooks' warped logic:

    > If federal security agencies can’t do vast data sweeps, they will inevitably
    > revert to the older, more intrusive eavesdropping methods.

and

    > He betrayed the cause of open government. Every time there is a leak
    > like this, the powers that be close the circle of trust a little tighter.
    > They limit debate a little more.

This is exactly like something a friend from the former Soviet Union told me a few years ago. People in the community would self-censor, and moreso censor each other by saying explicitly: "If we don't censor amongst ourselves, the central authorities will be forced to step in and impose even tighter and more strict measures than we are under now."

This goes beyond a simple fear of consequences. It's a pervasive acceptance of the aggressor's malevolence in which the victim ritualistically cowtows in order to appease it.

This is ICD-9 code 995.81 "Battered person syndrome". https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battered_person_syndrome :

* The abused thinks that the violence was his or her fault.

* The abused has an inability to place the responsibility for the violence elsewhere.

* The abused has an irrational belief that the abuser is omnipresent and omniscient.

EDIT:

See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stockholm_syndrome "a psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and sympathy and have positive feelings toward their captors or abusers, sometimes to the point of defending them. [...] One commonly used hypothesis to explain the effect of Stockholm syndrome is based on Freudian theory. It suggests that the bonding is the individual’s response to trauma in becoming a victim. Identifying with the aggressor is one way that the ego defends itself. When a victim believes the same values as the aggressor, they cease to be a threat."