SO, WHAT WAS THE REASON FOR ALL THE NSA SPYING?

As I recall, the vast data collection is necessary to keep tabs on Al Qaeda.  In the past, this hasn't worked out so well for us & last year's Boston Marathon bombing is just one example.  Now we have another one that's potentially more dangerous:

Unsettling video shows large al Qaeda meeting in Yemen

By Barbara Starr, CNN Pentagon Correspondent
updated 1:30 AM EDT, Wed April 16, 2014

Washington (CNN) -- A new video shows what looks like the largest and most dangerous gathering of al Qaeda in years. And the CIA and the Pentagon either didn't know about it or couldn't get a drone there in time to strike.