Some comments, if I may
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Originally Posted by CCIP
My point is more that when you have such an apparatus operating, by design, without transparency to the people it is responsible to (i.e. the electorate), that is cause to be concerned.
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Why do you assume that the "apparatus" is, or should be, accountable to the electorate? The "apparatus", as you name it, is, and should be accountable to the elected representatives of the people, and that the representatives should be accountable to the electorate. This is the basis for the representative government we have in the US. The rational for this is explained in my next comment
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Noone needs this kind of massive security apparatus - or let's be more specific, the average American does not need this security apparatus.
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The average American does not know what he or she needs, nor would they especially understand the methodologies for obtaining what is needed. The average American does not understand the complexities of the international environments. They do not fit nicely into political pigeon-holes, nor can they be explained in "sound-bytes". To disagree with our past President on foreign policy, "its all nuance". Also the average American has a conception of how their government acts and how our international relationships "should be". The reality would probably confuse the average American and would most likely shock them.
There was an excellent quote from Men in Black that, despite being used in a comedy, is rather accurate
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There's always an Arquillian Battle Cruiser, or a Corillian Death Ray, or an intergalactic plague that is about to wipe out all life on this miserable little planet, and the only way these people can get on with their happy lives is that they Do... Not... Know about it!
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You are correct in that there is always the possibility that such an "apparatus" can be misused. It is really a good thing that the "apparatus" is staffed with many many very very loyal people who monitor not only themselves, but others to see that the system is not misused.
Are they perfect? No, they are human.... a bunch of humans trying hard to do a very difficult job on behalf of a citizenry who has little knowledge nor appreciation of what is being done on their behalf.
That is just the nature of the wacky world of Intelligence.
It is a dull, tedious, mind-numbing job with difficult working environments, where all your successes are ignored but any failure, no matter how slight, is exaggerated.... and this is on a good day... most days are not this good.