War On Terror Research Paper

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.

The Bill of Rights was ratified and in full effect in 1791. It spelled out rights and freedoms which protected citizens from the government and gave them, most especially; protections under the law against criminal accusations made against them. In 2001, John Walker Lindh (known to some as the “American Taliban”) became an accused man; he was an American citizen and alleged anti-American terrorist. Lindh was denied a number of rights vital to make his proper, fair, and full defense. Lindh’s constitutional rights should have been upheld despite the charges against him and any possible intelligence towards the war on terror he may have had; for there is a slippery-slope to denying someone these constitutional rights.

After reading Chapter 3 in our book and reviewing the US Constitution from my Introduction to Government class I have come to the conclusion that the US Patriot act is a very controversial document. There are arguments both for and against the Document. However, I take the position against the document at this time.

In this essay I will discuss the pros and the cons of the Patriot Act, how it affected the lives of US citizens and the world, and whether or not it fits within our democratic form of government. The Patriot Act was a rapidly drafted and approved Act of Congress which was intended to increase the security of US citizens by combatting terrorism. Although granting increased security to an extent, the Act was and still is extremely controversial due to certain parts of the Act limiting the freedoms of American citizens. The Patriot Act enhanced the government’s ability to spy on their own people, and with far fewer restrictions, so many people were and still are disgusted, but many others completely agree with it. Millions of people, billions across the world have a historical trend of being happy to sacrifice their freedoms for increased security. The controversy lies with how more safe are you in comparison to how much of your freedom you have to give up, and that compromise is weighed vastly different for individuals across the world. Did the Patriot Act save enough lives to warrant what it cost, or did it inhibit the lives of too many people to be allowed to continue. The answer will always be disputed and weighing each side will be a very difficult task.

     In the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks US Congress passed legislation known as the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 commonly known as the USA Patriot Act. This paper will attempt to prove that not only is the USA Patriot Act unconstitutional but many of its provisions do nothing at all to protect Americans from the dangers of terrorism.

The patriot act has given police more freedom in combating terrorism while interfering with our personal rights. So in another word, it violates some of our constitutional rights. I don’t agree with my rights being taken away in the name of terrorism. Because if you are or you aren’t doing anything, wrong all the government needs to lock you up is just a suspicion. And you're in jail, I don’t think that the government should have this kind of power.

In this paper I will discuss and explain the patriot act. I will also explain and discuss the provisions of the Act and the rationale behind each major component. Finally I will give my thoughts and views on the Patriot Act and talk about if I think this act is necessary to keep the United States safe and limit terrorist attacks.

On September 11, 2015 the greatest act of terror known was committed at the World Trade Center, as well as the Pentagon. The terrorist group known as al-Quaeda coordinated an attack by hijacking U.S. commercial flights and sending two planes into the World Trade Center and another into the Pentagon. Luckily, a fourth flight was retaken by the passengers and could not reach its target, yet sadly it crashed in a Pennsylvanian valley. This event broke the hearts of American citizens and citizens worldwide, and the actions coming after wards would have a huge impact on America.

After the horrific terrorist attack on the date of September 11th, 2001 the U.S has passed a law to help prevent terrorist attacks. Through the use of tapping phone lines and checking citizens Internet usage. The U.S. department of Homeland Security’s purpose was to organize the National Security Agency, the Pentagon, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Central Intelligence Agency. The design was intended to product the people of the U.S. It allows the government to search people’s home without a warrant. The causal factors that allow the government search through without warrant are: emails, phones and search engine searches. There is a problem the 4th amendment “The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses,

After the devastating attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, this country scrambled to take action to provide future protection. New techniques had to be developed to protect the nation from the menace of terrorism. Along with the new techniques came the decision to enact laws that some believed crossed the threshold of violating civil liberties this county and those living in it were guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States. “On October 26, 2001, the Public Law 107-56, Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism, also known as the USA Patriot Act, was signed into effect” (Stern, 2004, p. 1112). While speaking to Congress,

September 11, 2001 was the day where everything in America had changed. A series of four terrorist attacks destroyed the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. As a reaction to this, Congress passed the Patriot Act, severely limiting citizen’s civil liberties as promised by the Constitution. American’s civil liberties and constitutional rights cannot be denied and/or put into jeopardy to protect national security, for it goes against American ideals and may persecute non-partisan individuals, while allowing the executive branch to unconstitutionally abuse their power.

The United States of America is undoubtedly one of the world’s largest and most powerful nations. However, it has been facing the problem of terrorism for many decades, most notably after the tragic events of September 11th. The Patriot Act was passed shortly after these events in response to the acts of terrorism witnessed by the whole nation. At the time, it seemed rational and logical to allow this bill to pass, due to the extreme anger of American citizens, and the willingness to fight against terrorism. However, certain breaches of privacy came with the introduction of the Patriot Act. We as Americans want to feel protected from the threats of terrorism, however, we are not willing to give up certain privacies and liberties in order for that to happen, even when put to a vote.

There are several terrorist groups throughout the world today. All the terrorist groups have one common goal and that is to rid the world of Americans and western influence from the Muslim world. There is one organization that has ties to most of all the terrorist groups in the world and is the most infamous group in the world today and that is the group called Al-Qaeda The word Al-Qaeda means “the base” in Muslim. As an international terrorist organization led by Osama bin Laden. The group seeks to rid Muslim countries of western influence and replace them with fundamentalist Islamic regimes. Al-Qaeda grew out of the of the ashes of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1988, after it helped expel the Soviet

Americans have always held the rights and liberties close to their hearts. Ever since we became an independent nation. After the tragic events that happened on September 11th, 2001, Citizens of America began to ponder if some of their rights and liberties should be sacrificed to prevent such an attack in the future. National unity took over the country and Americans bonded and held each other up. They stood up in the face of terrorism and the Presidents approval rating soared through the roof (from 54% to nearly a whooping 86% which is the highest level it has ever been). Sadly, the American public rallied behind the Government and provided support for an Act that will come to violate their freedoms that they cherish so much. Congress drafted the US Patriot Act in only 45 days (which leads some to believe that it was already pre-made and was just a combination of a “wish-list” that the FBI had and was waiting for the right time to implement). Still filled with a sense of national pride and deeply scarred by the terrorist attacks which occurred on September 11th, 2001, americans accepted the Act to blatantly avoid being labeled unpatriotic in the eyes of their peers and government. Still, in the face of being labeled “unpatriotic”, many thousands of open minded individuals who saw what this Act could in the future openly question the Government though their cries where heard by mute ears. When the House sent the US Patriot Act to the Senate for approval in 2001,

Do you ever have one of those moments in your life in which you will never forget where you were? I remember waking up early on September 11, 2001, getting ready for school and my dad telling me hurry up to watch the news with him. Being in 8th grade at the time, the news really wasn’t something I would watch in the mornings so I knew it had to be something important. Then I saw it. An airplane crashing into a tower, people panicking, and mayhem ensuing in a city very well known to me. When any tragic event like 9/11 occurs, the effect it will have on a nation is tremendous. It left America in shock, anger, and sadness just to name a few adjectives to describe the insurmountable amount of feelings that we felt on that day.