Can terrorism be adequately dealt with through the legislative process, such as with the USA PATRIOT Act? Why or why not? Would you be willing
Original Post to stated question 250 words.
Respond to 3 classmates 250 words each.
Stated Question: Can terrorism be adequately dealt with through the legislative process, such as with the USA PATRIOT Act? Why or why not? Would you be willing to give up some of your rights to allow law enforcement more latitude in dealing with terrorism? Why or why not? Support your position.
Classmate 1 Mauro: Terrorism is not something that is going to be dealt with once and then never heard of again. Just as one terrorist organization is shutdown, another one will emerge. Terrorism occurs domestically and internationally. This is just one of the many reasons it is so difficult to manage. There are multiple different agencies that conduct investigations on terrorist organizations. It is often found that information sharing is not ideal in these situations. Domestic terrorism for example, an organization or individual could be a suspect in a current investigation in one state but have already committed a crime in another. If the organizations conducting the investigations do not use the same databases or share information, it is highly unlikely that the suspect will be apprehended or even linked to both incidents. A review was conducted in March 2017 by the inspectors General of the Intelligence Community, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Justice of the efficiency of interagency information sharing. While there were many strengths identified, there were also 23 recommendations to better the relationships between agencies. Even with this review of current policies and recommendations made, terrorist attacks still occurred. The reason for this? Terrorist cells are forever changing. As soon as our agencies figure out how one cell is operating, things change in an instant. Terrorism will never end, but our interagency collaboration can improve and have a better chance of saving lives. While I do not think the USA PATRIOT Act alone will prevent terrorism, I do think it gives our law enforcement agencies more room to gather intelligence of suspects. As our technology changes and improves, provisions will need to be made to include new ways of communications. The USA PATRIOT Act allows investigations some investigations to be subtle, such as the “sneak-and-peek”, so that federal agencies can conduct meaningful investigations without disclosing their targets until a later time. I think this is a highly effective course of action because if too much information is given, it could sabotage the entire investigation.
I do not think there is anything wrong with law enforcement conducting investigations like this. As we have seen too many times, lone-wolf terrorists are unknown until the day they execute. If law enforcement officials can scan things such as computer usage, internet searches, library book check outs, anything that could be a potential threat, it may give them an opportunity to shut down a cell that they did not even know existed. I know that a lot of people are concerned about their privacy be protected but if you are not doing anything wrong, you will never have to worry about your privacy being infringed upon. I am unsure of what the requirements should be for law enforcement to be able to gain access to our private things. In one example, I think they should be able to have a list of words or phrases when searching the internet and be able to access any profile that has looked it up. I also think that they should be able to use drones to listen into and “check up on” known terrorist organizations. But in the same aspect, I think of, how would I feel if I had the FBI knock on my door to search my home because I looked up, “Information Sharing on Terrorism” for this post. I do not have all the answers but I do think our law enforcement should have a little more room to investigate potential terrorist, even if that means infringing on our right to privacy.
Duignan, B. (2020, November 12). USA PATRIOT Act. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/USA-PATRIOT-Act
Inspectors General of the Intelligence Community, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Justice. (2017, March). Review of Domestic Sharing of Counterterrorism Information. Domestic_Sharing_Counterterrorism_Information_Report.pdf (dni.gov)
Classmate 2 Brooks: The USA Patriot Act is defined as uniting and strengthening America by providing appropriate tools required to intercept and obstruct terrorism both domestic and foreign(What is the USA Patriot Web, n.d.). The bill was previously rejected by congress until 9/11. In response to the 9/11 attacks, it was quickly developed and signed into law reducing checks and balances to the judicial oversight and the ability to challenge government searches in court. The government is obligated to protect life, liberty and property against terrorism both domestic and far and the Patriot act was a start but was developed too quickly and really didn’t focus on foreign terrorism at all but rather focused more on its own citizens; giving law enforcement power to invade financial and medical records (What is the USA Patriot Web, n.d.). Check internet usage, travel history and all other activities that leaves a record without having to show proof of reasonable suspicion of criminal activity or probable cause which is listed in the fourth amendment. Before this act they could only gather intelligence to investigate international terrorism, only use records from common and public carriers and only get information from people the FBI had information on or was an agent of foreign power. Yes, terrorism can be adequately dealt with through the legislative process but will need more than six weeks to complete and the idea of who and what terrorism is should be revisited.
As of right now, I would not give up my rights to allow law enforcement more latitude to deal with terrorism. Law enforcement already has the authority to check any and everything they want without mine or my peers’ consent but there was an attack at the United States Capital and law enforcement wasn’t aware. In 2001, law enforcement didn’t have all the tools they have now, and social media wasn’t a big thing but today they have more than enough tools and almost everyone is on social media. These attacks were planned through emails, social media and other things that leave records, but law enforcement couldn’t prevent this from happening. Until all tools provided to law enforcement are properly used and their focus is centered on real threats to the United States, my rights are mine and shouldn’t be compromised at the moment.
References
Bogdan Vasi, I., & Strang, D. (2009). Civil Liberty in America: The Diffusion of Municipal Bill of Rights Resolutions after the Passage of the USA PATRIOT Act. The American Journal of Sociology, 114(6), 1716–1764
Justice.gov. n.d. What is the USA Patriot Web. [online] Available at:
Classmate 3 Huleg: I consider terrorism as a “disease” that only could be dealt with is by “treatment and elimination”, and as a tool, the legislative process allows humankind to act together to combat and succeed in fighting it. Terrorism is defined as “violent acts or acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State, or that would be a criminal violation if committed within the jurisdiction of the United States or of any State” with intend to “to intimidate or coerce a civilian population, to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion, or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping” (18 USC Ch. 113B). It has no boundaries, no countries, terrorists do not care about law and order, they sow terror and devastation.
The United States and the world were hit hard and at surprise by devastating attacks in 2001, the World Trade Center, Pentagon, and the consequent postal anthrax incidents, that had changed our lives forever. “The nation was unprepared” (9/11 Commission Report, 2004, p.1). It was the government’s failure to prevent and stop these attacks, the lack of intergovernmental operations and collaboration led to these terrible events and outcomes, where thousand and thousands have lost and are still losing their lives as of today. While many mistakes were determined and criticized the main problem was and ineffective collaboration and information exchange between intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The USA PATRIOT Act was enacted as a response to above mentioned tragic events and its objective is detection and prevention of terrorism and its funding, by enhancing intelligence and investigative capabilities, techniques, and tools, and had eased procedures and aimed to ensure information exchange and sharing among law enforcement and intelligence community. This Act brought a broad issue for debates over its constitutionality, “overbroad terrorism definition … and amends the definition of terrorist activity1,” and other constitutional issues. However, for a greater cause and reason, to ensure the national security and wellbeing of all, I think, people are willing to give up some of their rights.
However, as I mentioned at the beginning, terrorism has to be treated as a “disease”, that requires a comprehensive multipoint approach to fight it. If the USA PATRIOT Act enables and equips the law enforcement and intelligence agencies with broader and eased procedures, the root cause of terrorism and its prevention needs to be addressed. This all should start at and with every family and public education efforts.
References:
1 American Civil Liberties Union, how the anti-terrorism bill allows for detention of people engaging in innocent associational activity, 2001, https://www.aclu.org/other/how-anti-terrorism-bill-allows-detention-people-engaging-innocent-associational-activity#:~:text=the%20danger%20of%20putting%20the%20burden%20of%20proof,if%20such%20damage%20created%20no%20danger%20of%20injury, accessed on 03/03/2021.
18 USC Ch. 113B: TERRORISM, https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title18/part1/chapter113b&edition=prelim, accessed on 03/03/2021.
9/11 commission report executive summary, 2004, https://9-11commission.gov/report/911report_exec.pdf, accessed on 03/03/2021.
Answer preview for Can terrorism be adequately dealt with through the legislative process, such as with the USA PATRIOT Act? Why or why not? Would you be willing
1042 Words