and from the longer article:
The court's repeated intervention in Bush administration wiretap requests may explain why the president decided to bypass the court nearly four years ago to launch secret National Security Agency spying on hundreds and possibly thousands ...
Both statements are outright speculation on the part of the "reporters" and their sources, but are designed to leave the impression of a causal relationship between the rate of rejections and modifications and the decision to not go to the FISA court in some cases. The "may have" of the longer article has been modified into a certainty by the UPI "report".
It is just as, or maybe more likely (but also speculation on my part and that of many others), that in some cases the timing required was such that the critical need or opportunity would have been overtaken by events had the time been taken to get the court's approval.
Strange that the "reporters" while freely speculating away, do not speculate at all on alternate explanations that would make sense and that would not cast a negative light on the Administration. I wonder why ...
"It is just as, or maybe more likely (but also speculation on my part and that of many others), that in some cases the timing required was such that the critical need or opportunity would have been overtaken by events had the time been taken to get the court's approval."
You can get a FISA warrant retroactively. Meaning you can spy first, get warrant later. How would that slow you down?