"the government needs Apple to open the terrorists phone"

Does that mean the safety of our country lies in the hands of Apple?
When / if they get it open there is no guarantee they will get any information to protect anyone.
They want to know why it happened. That could be of some future value but at the cost of some more of our personal privacy.
I'm not sure if there is anything about us common folks that the government doesn't already know.
I don't think the information on one cell phone will end the terrorist threats to our nation.
The idiots that are protecting this country should ask Ollie North how to get things done.