How can you trust that there are no nefarious forces at work here on the NSA's part, when 1) there are many clear and obvious incentives for them to exist, and 2) everything about the NSA and what it does is kept a secret?
Many man and woman of NSA truly think they are doing good for their country.
I also don't think by calling each other names like nefarious is going to help the situation.
It that time they acted the way the world occurred (showed up ) must seemed appropriated for that action. I don not think they they are sitting around the table and talk about how to be evil.
I think we should grant amnesty much like what they did in South Africa for people who are working for US government and know they are doing something not in alignment with their and the countryøs values.
http://omniorthogonal.blogspot.com/2013/02/hostile-ai-youre-...
The NSA has overreached because after 9/11 congress demanded that they start overreaching. The AUMF was sweeping in its breadth.
They will have to be reigned in...but the idea that what they are doing is "evil"... if we aren't going to hold people accountable for torture it doesn't make sense to call privacy invasion "evil".