More information is not necessarily better information. Intelligence agencies have been drowning in data, much of it flawed when it was entered into databases, and much of it irretrievable because of the bigger flaws in technology systems that are supposed to make it ‘simple’ to deliver actionable intelligence’. We have created a surveillance monster which needs constant funding and feeding, and there is no evidence that it has “connected the dots” in a way that has made the nation safer. 

Government officials respond, “if you knew what we know…” But you would expect them to point to examples that show how the system has worked to keep Americans safe, given its tremendous cost. Instead, we get (leaked) examples of how ordinary Americans have been labeled “suspects” in its proliferating databases and reports.