One quite sound criticism of the unilateral secrecy respecting the national security warrant taps is that the counterproductive nature of the whole enterprise. A successful battle against terrorism includes working together, which requires trust on both sides. I know this apparently goes against the grain of the zero sum game that drives this administration, but after a while it is glaringly obvious.
For instance, they release information about some aborted plot involving shoe bombs. The general sentiment is cynicism because of the timing and the whole thing seems a bit laughable anyway. [Also, local authorities are pissed because they say that they were not adequately informed.] But, surely it is not too laughable given the fact that Richard Reid was convicted of taking just such a bomb on an airplane, actually a creative way to get explosives past authorities. And, though it might seem like giving them too much credit, I do not think the administration is totally incompetent. Surely, they did something to fight terrorism in the last five or so years. It is just that they insist on exaggerating, misleading, and stonewalling to such a degree that you just cannot trust them.
And, yes, their overall success rate does not warrant giving them the benefit of the doubt. But, they are just making things worse for themselves. (English accent ala The Crying Game) They just can't help it. It is inherent in their character. So, instead of putting forth a weaker case that Iraq appeared to be chasing WMDs, they use superlatives and absolute language. They deny doing anything wrong, spinning or changing the official line ala 1984 when necessary.
And, so it goes.