I think it's wrong to say Microsoft was "forced" into this. In a sense, they made their own bed. I have to believe that the majority of Microsoft's money is based off of serving governments and huge corporations (Windows + Office). It just makes sense that they'll want to keep those relationships.
It's not in Microsoft's interest to function as defacto agents of the US government. They are compelled by law to do what the Feds want -- just like would would be if you we're providing a service.
Think about the impact of the NSA leaks on Microsoft's business. Globally, every customer or potential customer of Microsoft needs to ask whether they can trust Micrsoft as a business partner. Not a good place to be on for a software company transitioning to a cloud services company.
