Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism is the extended terminology that refers to the U.S.A. Patriot Act which, following the events of 9/11 was passed by the Senate immediately and almost unanimously. When the Pentagon and the World Trade Center were attacked in 2001, concerns over national security and America's susceptibility to terrorist threats emerged more so as the country remained baffled at what had just happened. Governmental figures needed to address people's concerns and overall, the issue of law enforcement being able to prevent such attacks from ever happening again. With Assistant Attorney General Viet Dinh having authored the act shortly after the events and upon reviewing existing practices and methodologies, Jim Sensenbrenner, member of the Republican Party, presented it to Congress. It should be noted that, generally, the Patriot Act is embedded in America's history of electronic surveillance that emerged along with improved technologies. Title III of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 permitted wiretapping under certain regulatory conditions. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986 was meant to ?update and clarify Federal privacy protections and standards in light of dramatic changes in new computer and telecommunications technologies. (as cited in Roundy, 2006, p. 413) Furthermore, the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) was passed to ?preserve the government's ability…to intercept communications involving advanced technologies while protecting the privacy of communications and without impending the introduction of new technologies. (as cited in Henderson, 2002, p. 184) While these acts concerned surveillance in relation to criminal issues, national security was particularly addressed in terms of electronic surveillance by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978. However,...
While the former was passed immediately, the second version was delayed to be drafted in compatibility with the Senate's. Eventually, the final edited version was sent to the President and was signed into law on October 26, 2001. Within the next following years, expressed opinions increased as to the violation of privacy and unconstitutional premises as a result of modified legalities of electronic surveillance. In 2005, certain provisions of the Act expired and reauthorization was needed to reinstate the document and permit enforcement of provisions. However, Democrats had started to oppose the Act by 2005 and proceeded with delaying the process. A year later nevertheless, the Patriot Act was granted full support and was authorized with only three provisions being subject to expiring while most provisions were made permanent. Certain civil liberties assurances were introduced with the reauthorization in 2006.
USA PATRIOT Act: Discussion Questions The USA PATRIOT Act, as the Department of Justice (2014) points out was enacted by Congress with an aim of equipping those charged with the enhancement of law and order with new tools to not only combat but also prevent acts of terror. An acronym, the PATRIOT Act, in the words of Ronczkowski (2006, p. 64), is "formally known as the Uniting and Strengthening America by
The effect is that exclusion is not only applied to those who would hurt the government but also to those that would uphold the same. The Patriot Act provides facilitation of shared information as well as cooperation between agencies of the government in order for all the pieces of the puzzle to fit together. The Act moves aside the barriers that have Constitutionally speaking prevented the police, intelligence as well
However the disclaimers of USA Patriot Act agree on the necessity of protecting the nation and the world against terrorism, they also emphasize on the need to further analyze and change the act so that it does protect the individual liberties of the U.S. citizens and respects the provisions in the American constitution. 5. Discussion The question that has been asked by many simple individuals relies in the true agenda of the
In this case, it may be seen that the Patriot Act does not protect all citizens. It can be used to violate basic human right. Use of National Security Letters. The use of National Security Letters where the government asks private agencies (media, banks, etc.) for private information and give a NSL, wherein said agency cannot divulge the fact that they had given the said information, has also been rampant.
The result is thousands of people denied the necessary refuge that they seek. Clintora condemns this as a "major policy gap (that) threatens not only human rights in individual countries but also jeopardizes international and regional stability and American regional influence and economic interests." Kreimer (2007) expounds upon the fact that few legislators had time to fully read the PATRIOT Act, when it was first proposed. Once enacted, there was
Political Science The USA Patriot Act Congress passed the U.S.A. PATRIOT Act in response to the terrorists' attacks of September 11, 2001. The Act gives federal officials larger authority to follow and seize communications, both for law enforcement and foreign intelligence gathering reasons. It gives the Secretary of the Treasury with regulatory powers to fight corruption of U.S. financial institutions for foreign money laundering reasons. It seeks to further shut the countries
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now