I think you are confusing military and civil intelligence, which is not terribly surprising, because they are increasingly being blurred, but it it important to keep in mind.<p>The NSA, at least on the margin, does not care about convictions. Their mandate has nothing to do with law enforcement.<p>You&#x27;re right that metadata is often much more operationally important than the message. But the DEA-style parallel-construction corruption is a hobby business for the NSA.