Andy Oram writes in How did we end up with a centralized Internet for the NSA to mine?:
Having lived through the Boston Marathon bombing, I understand what the NSA claims to be fighting, and I am willing to seek some compromise between their needs for spooking and the protections of the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution.
You may still remember the Boston Marathon bombing, a couple of malcontents who were already known to the authorities so there was no need for NSA action or any compromise on the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution.
There is no defense to one or two people committing a criminal act.
Consider bank robberies. Guess where they all occur. Did you say at banks?
Despite knowing where banks are located, the FBI reported for 2011, 5,014 bank robberies.
I am sure anyone who was at any of those robberies was terrified. But we don’t get patted down to go into a bank.
Having a crime on TV (like the Boston Marathon bombing) is no reason to start trading constitutional rights for fictional security.
Crimes happen. Comfort the victims, find suspects, if possible within the bounds of the Constitution and roll on.
If we treat terrorist acts as crimes, just garden variety crimes, our recovery from the hysteria over terrorism will have begun.