“54 ATTACKS THWARTED.”

In June speaking in Germany of the NSA surveillance Mr. Obama said, “We know of at least 50 threats that have been averted because of this information".  In July speaking at a security conference in Las Vegas NSA head Keith Alexander displayed a slide that read 54 ATTACKS THWARTED. Were either of them telling the truth?  How do they define 'threat' or 'thwart'?

At that same conference Alexander referred to “54 different terrorist-related activities,” 42 of which were plots and 12 of which were cases in which individuals provided “material support” to terrorism.  Not exactly the same as thwarting plot, is it?

The NSA has been coy about the subject of terrorist plots foiled.  Some typical comments:

• intelligence from the programs on 54 occasions “has contributed to the [U.S. government’s] understanding of terrorism activities and, in many cases, has enabled the disruption of potential terrorist events at home and abroad
• “The information gathered from these programs provided the U.S. government with critical leads to help prevent over 50 potential terrorist events in more than 20 countries around the world.”
• 54 cases “in which these programs contributed to our understanding, and in many cases, helped enable the disruption of terrorist plots in the U.S. and in over 20 countries throughout the world.”

These qualified statements have not been enough to dissuade our leaders and the media to tout the fact that the NSA has actually prevented real dangers from happening to us.