I concede, these are good points. I'd like to add though, that it would be better overall to have a solution that at least tries to limit access to specific devices, rather than Apple being forced by the government to build in general backdoors. But I can't really think of a better solution. Maybe have a hierarchy of keys, one per some serial number suffix, each in different servers in different buildings and accessed by different people, so if one gets lost it at least only affects a fraction of devices on the market?
I think that we as a society (though I am not American) should decide first whether we think backdoors for court orders are worth the risk at all.
Let's be honest with ourselves, the chance to be killed by terrorists is minuscule compared to other factors that are under human control (air pollution, traffic incidents, homicides).
If you are looking at non-terrorist criminal activity, one has to wonder if you don't have more serious problems than unlocking a bunch of iPhones when your homicide rates[1] or traffic-related deaths[2] are higher than nearly any other Western country.
Terrorism and crime are just easy distractions to get more power.
