Premise of the government

The following is from Senate Floor Statement of Senator Barack Obama on The PATRIOT Act.

That's why as it's come time to reauthorize this law, we've been working in a bipartisan way to do both - to show the American people that we can track down terrorists without trampling on our civil liberties. To show the American people that the federal government will only issue warrants and execute searches because it needs to, not because it can. What we have been trying to achieve, under the leadership of a bipartisan group of Senators, is some accountability in this process - to get answers and see evidence where there is suspicion.

The (US) government/state represents a power structure (and any government/state represents a power structure just to clarify), and the power is generally a violent one. Subsequently, it is the government's nature to want to issue warrants and execute searches. This is not cynicism, but it is simply an institutional analysis of the government. It is very important for legislators and citizens to understand this premise of the government first and foremost.