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Effects of Counterterrorism Legislation post 09/11

Effects of Counterterrorism Legislation post 09/11. James J. Clements Honors Colloquium May 3 rd , 2007. September 11 th , 2001. Worst attack ever to hit American soil. 4 Commercial jets hijacked by 19 terrorists, all members of the al-Qaeda network.

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Effects of Counterterrorism Legislation post 09/11

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  1. Effects of Counterterrorism Legislation post 09/11 James J. Clements Honors Colloquium May 3rd, 2007

  2. September 11th, 2001 • Worst attack ever to hit American soil. • 4 Commercial jets hijacked by 19 terrorists, all members of the al-Qaeda network. • Approximately 3000 people killed on that day.

  3. How did the government react? • The USA Patriot Act was signed into law by George W. Bush on October 26th, 2001; just 45 days after the attack. • Its full title is “Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001.”

  4. It is a combination of the “Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 or FISA which became known as the USA Act in 2001 and the Financial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001.” • There are 10 titles in the Act, each with its own subsections or articles. • Title I-Section 102 focuses on the civil rights of all Americans, including Arab Americans. It says that “civil rights and liberties must be protected and that every effort must be protected to preserve their safety.” It goes on to condemn any acts of violence against any Americans and to recognize the patriotism all citizens from all ethnic, racial and religious backgrounds.

  5. Title 2 of the USA Patriot Act includes many of the sections that have sparked controversy within the American public and American Civil Liberties Union or ACLU, especially with regards to the 1st and 4th Amendment. • Section 215 allows the FBI increased access to things such as library and hospital records, including psychiatric records, your computer and the websites that you visit, what religious services you attend and political organizations affiliations that you may have, even if you are not being sought for suspicious activities.

  6. According to the ACLU, Section 215 “violates the United States Constitution. It violates privacy and due process rights guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment, and free speech rights guaranteed by the First Amendment.” • “It violates the Fourth Amendment by allowing the government to search and seize your personal records or belongings without a warrant or without showing probably cause.”

  7. The Governments Response to the ACLU Accusations: • “The library habits of ordinary Americans have no interest to those conducting terrorism investigations.” They go on to say that “historically, terrorists and spies have used libraries to plan and carry out activities that threaten our national security.”

  8. Kate O’Beirne, the editor of the National Review, a supporter of the Act is quoted as saying “Who says you can’t argue with success? In the past two years (2001-2003), terrorist cells in Buffalo, Detroit, Seattle and Portland have been dismantled; criminal charges have been brought against 225 suspected terrorists and 132 of those have been convicted.” • John Ashcroft, former Attorney General said in a testimony before the U.S House of Representatives in 2003:

  9. “Our ability to prevent another catastrophic attack on American soil would be more difficult, if not impossible, without the Patriot Act. It has been the key weapon used across America in successful counter terrorists operations to protect innocent Americans from the deadly plans of terrorists.” • So which one do you believe?

  10. Does the USA PATRIOT Act go too far? Gallup Poll Statistics

  11. “One provision in the Patriot Act allows federal agents to secretly search a U.S. citizen’s home without informing the person of that search for an unspecified period of time.  Do you approve or disapprove of this provision?”

  12. “Another provision in the Patriot Act requires businesses, including hospitals, bookstores, and libraries, to turn over records in terrorism investigations and prevents the businesses from revealing to their patients or clients that these records have been turned over to the government.  Do you approve or disapprove of this provision?”

  13. What do you think? • Is “Big Brother” trying to monitor everything that we do or are they just trying to protect us? • Are you willing to sacrifice some of your civil liberties and freedoms for increased safety or does this go too far?

  14. Collection of photographs of those killed (excluding 92 victims) during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. These people didn’t have a choice.

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