That is because &quot;Preventing terrorist attacks&quot; is used only to SELL the program to the populace.
Its real goal is to make it so that the status-quo is not disturbed.<p>These programs will be used and are being used to monitor and arrest domestic radicals, support foreign espionage for American economic interests, etc much more than any terrorist prevention:<p>In order of priority:<p>1) Target &quot;Occupy wallstreet&quot;, G20 protests, Greenpeace etc<p>2) Target foreign govts &amp; corporations for economic gain<p>3) Target Radicals in foreign countries that oppose US interests (some of these could very well be terrorists also)<p>4) Actual terrorists<p>So if we keep using the wrong metric to measure success then obviously &quot;Mass surveillance&quot; has failed.<p>The Director of the CIA wasted no time blaming Snowden for the Paris attacks [1] - dismissing all concerns as &quot;hand-wringing&quot;. I am now waiting for the &quot;Our current spying is not enough, we need even more spying powers&quot; congress actions to surface.
Cynically exploiting the fear and concern after an attack is the real game here - the &quot;efficacy&quot; of the measures proposed is irrelevant, as no one will be able to hold them accountable.<p>[1] - <a href="http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;11&#x2F;17&#x2F;us&#x2F;after-paris-attacks-cia-director-rekindles-debate-over-surveillance.html" rel="nofollow">http:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.nytimes.com&#x2F;2015&#x2F;11&#x2F;17&#x2F;us&#x2F;after-paris-attacks-cia...</a>