Security and Domestic Terrorism Essay

Throughout its more than hundred year history, the Federal Bureau of Investigations has been a very important agency to the United States. As a threat-based and intelligence-driven national security organization, the mission of the FBI is to protect and defend the United States against terrorist and foreign intelligence threats, to enforce the criminal laws of the United States, and to provide leadership to federal, state, and international agencies (“A Brief History of the FBI”). The Bureau’s success has always depended on its agility, its willingness to adapt, and the ongoing dedication of its personnel. But in the years since

One of the most controversial issues to come forth from the post 9/11 era is the Patriot Act. This is a law that was passed by congress to help the intelligence agencies and the executive branch succeed in their counter terrorism efforts. Also, "To deter and punish terrorist acts in the United States and around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools and other reasons(Patriot Act)."

Public Law 107-56 otherwise known as the USA PATRIOT Act was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. USA PATRIOT Act is an acronym which stands for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. (justice.gov) This law was instated in response to the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. The Islamic terrorist group known as Al-Qaeda, coordinated four different plane hijackings killing 2,996 people, and injuring 6,000+ others. (9/11 memorial.org) Just weeks after the attacks congress rushed to pass this bill, passing the senate 98 to 1, and the house 357 to 66 (justice.gov), so that we can have more security controls within the United States. It gives the United States government the same powers and tools used to investigate organized crime and drug trafficking in decades prior, to investigate current suspected terrorist. The Patriot act has several different titles that cover different grounds, all which have the same purpose of preventing future acts of terrorism. The patriot act allows the government to track and intercept any form of electronic communications of suspected terrorist in order to prevent any acts of terror, and also for intelligence gathering. The act also aids the government in securing borders, and removing those that are here with the intent to cause harm.

The act was passed by the Senate 98-1 and 357-66 in the House of Representatives. With its ten letter Backronym expanded the full title is uniting and strengthening America by providing appropriate tools required to intercept and obstruct terrorism act of 2001. The Patriot act played a key role after the September 11,2001 attack on the World Trade Center. Congress took legal principles and retrofitted them to preserve the lives and liberty of the American people from the challenges posed by a global terrorist network. This act allowed investigators to use the tools that were already available to investigate organized crime and drug trafficking. The act enabled investigators to gather information when looking into full range of terrorism related crimes. It also allowed the law enforcement to tap the phones and put a wire on certain people this allowed them to investigate without tipping off the terrorist so they wouldn't damage the evidence or kill any witnesses.The Patriot Act open so many doors for the law enforcement to investigate business record to see what people are buying thing to make a bomb or looking at bank transactions to see if there sending money to

After the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001 the United States became a very different place. This drastic change was caused by the initial emotional reactions that American citizens, as well as government leaders had towards the tragic event. The government, in an effort to assure that these events never happen again passed the USA PATRIOT Act, which is an acronym that stands for the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. The major goal of this act is to combat terrorism by giving the government more leeway in what areas they are allowed to use their surveillance tools and also to what circumstances these tools can be used. The major issue that arise with this act are the fact that many of the act can be seen as unconstitutional.

After the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, a controversial piece of legislation was adopted and passed called the U.S.A. Patriot Act. The title for this bill is an acronym for "the United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act" (USA Patriot Act).

September 11, 2001 sparked many different feelings into the hearts of Americans. People sprang into action to seek revenge and protect America’s precious soils from another deadly attack by reinforcing America’s strength through her government. The men and women of Congress retaliated to the terrorist attacks by drafting and passing the USA PATRIOT Act on October 26, 2001, which stands for “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism.” The bill was moved through Congress with amazing speed and little hesitation. After the passing, the unsuspecting citizens of America were bombarded with many new rules and regulations that

8). Therefore, although the attacks of 9/11 generated alterations in our national defense strategies, it additionally adjusted law enforcement policies immensely (Brooks, B. E., 2010, p. 113). It is now more common to have squads of police officers, such as SWAT teams, with specialized training in preventing future terrorist attacks. With exceptions to some officers at the local level, many of these specially trained teams are made up of state and national law enforcement. There are several local law enforcement agencies throughout America that do participate in anti-terrorism training, but on a larger scale many of these local departments lack the necessary training needed to prevent such threats. Therefore, local police departments, who lack special training, depend on the departments that are qualified to aid them. Likewise, the training these lower level law enforcement officers obtain varies greatly than that of state and national law enforcement. Despite the quantity of officers in local law enforcement departments, it is essential that each individual officer undergoes the preparations that are essential to be well equipped for reacting to a threat of terrorism. These preparations are crucial in that local law enforcement officers are often the first responders to these attacks, therefore they should be familiar

Shortly after the terrorist attack on the united states on September 11, 2001, president at the time George W. Bush enacted the USA Patriot Act. George bush has been quoted Stating “Terrorism against our nation will not stand” (Jones 2) a message which was hit home by the enactment of the USA Patriot Act. The Patriot Act gives law enforcement agencies increased powers enabling them to apprehend terrorist. The USA Patriot Act was enacted by congress on October 26, 2001, with the idea that it would help a crippled nation combat terrorism. The act of terrorism which is described as the act of using violence to gain political ground. According to James A. Morone author of the text “By the People Debating American Government” “The USA Patriot Act gave police and security personnel far more latitude to monitor, search, and detain suspects both abroad and at home” (Morone 683). The USA Patriot Act forfeits certain constitutional rights afforded by the constitution in an attempt of keeping the United States free of terrorism, On may 26, 2011 current president Barack Obama signed the Patriot Sunset extension act of 2011. The Patriot Sunset Extension Act of 2011 is a four year extension of three important provisions of the USA Patriot Act which has proved effective when combating terrorism. The extension extended the three of the most controversial aspects of the Patriot Act. Wiretaps, searches of public records and the conduction of surveillance of individuals suspected of

The patriot act is one of the most controversial act since the 19th amendment (womens right and equality) but unlike the 19th amendment it is not necessary to saftey or equality and is therefore highly scrutinized.Terrorism can be defined many different ways however it is summed simply by Tom Mockaitis from World Book Online Encyclopedia when he explains, "[t]errorism is the use of threat of violence to create fear and alarm" (Mockaitis 1). Through various forms, such as bombs, murdering, kidnapping, assassinations, hijackings, WMD (weapons of mass destruction), cyberterrorism, among others, are used to implement this violence due to the opposition of beliefs, ideas, or political issues. Terrorist are especially deadly because as Mockaitis

In the midst of July 2006, the NSB established a WMD Directorate to assimilate distributed components within the FBI. Besides, terrorist screening center was provided by the NSB, and this effort resulted in critical criminal intelligence and enlightening others agencies such as local law enforcements; specifically, significant Detainee Interrogation group. Also, interagency body and the collection of information on high-value terror suspects in thwarting violence against the U.S and allies around the world. Moreover, “merging the FBI’s national security workforce and mission under one leadership umbrella enhances our contribution to the national intelligence effort and allows us to leverage resources from our intelligence community (IC), Federal, state, local, tribal, private, and foreign partners”(FBI.GOV/NSB).

To reiterate, after the passage of the Act, numerous academics and legal specialists have attempted to substantiate whether or not the Act should remain in effect today. Essentially, the arguments addressed can be categorized into two predominant schools of thoughts. One on hand, as a I had briefly mentioned, some scholars believe that the Patriot Act ought to be excluded from the U.S. domestic set of security regulations, because it allows the government to disregard the basic rights of citizens and noncitizens that are secured by the U.S. Bill of Rights somewhat without a probable cause. Further, it legalizes a series of other unconstitutional provisions that could possibly lead the U.S. to a dictatorship. The other side of the debate defends

In 2014, a DHS report examined domestic law enforcements’ perception of terrorist threats. The study elucidated that, in the United States, the top concern of law enforcement officials when confronting terrorist threats are not Islamic extremists. Fifty-two percent of law enforcement officials agreed and 34 percent strongly agreed that their top concern are “sovereign citizens.”

1. Introduction The USA Patriot Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) of 2001 was issued on October 26, 2001, by President George W. Bush, with the purpose of providing a response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The act was intended to reform the agenda regarding law enforcement agencies and their limitations. The authorities acknowledged that it was essential for law enforcement investigatory tools needed significant improvement and thus revised their activities. The Patriot Act is meant both to deter and to prevent terrorist acts in the US and across the world.

As a direct consequence of September 11, a number of substantial challenges lie ahead in the area of counter-terrorism..   The most prominent of these is the changing nature of the terrorism phenomenon.  In past years, when terrorism was largely the product of direct state sponsorship, policymakers were able to diminish prospects for the United States becoming a target using a combination of diplomatic and military instruments to deter potential state sponsors.  Today, however, many terrorist organizations and individuals act independently from former and present state sponsors, shifting to other sources of support, including the development of transnational networks.