NSA is guilty of buying a bill of goods from contractors without checking to see if it is feasible. The contractors are guilty of promising the moon and not delivering. And Congress is guilty for failing to oversee it from beginning to end.
The image of NSA has been muddied considerably by this revelation.
The (communications) intercepts from NSA were the ultimate proof that an attack had taken place on August 4
All the NSA people I've talked to think domestic surveillance is anathema.