PATRIOT ACT

Patriotic Act and Guantanamo-Bay Prison

Patriot Act

I always support the Patriot Act of United States of America, because this act is not merely in the favour of our country but also it is in deep favour of all individuals, it is related to our safety and security. Below is the discussion, which supports why an American is in the favour of United States Patriot Act.

The USA PATRIOT Act is the abbreviated form of the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism. This act was a reaction to the terrorism activity of the September 11, 2001 of the no more trade towers. Without much hassle, this act was enacted on October 24, 2001 by a vote of 357 to 66, and passed the Senate the next day, October 25, 2002, by a vote of 98 to 1. It was signed into law by President Bush the following day, October 26, and is now the law of the land (Nicole, 2002).

The Act contains more than 150 sections that are divided into ten separate Titles granting authority to the federal investigative agencies to use unprecedented powers and reach everything from voice mail to consumer reports to banking records. The event of passing the Act in just 45 days is itself dubious. Reportedly, many activists groups such as ACLU, Centre for Constitutional Rights, and others, sounded the alarm about the Act soon after it was introduced. However, the sea change in political climate, which occurred virtually overnight after the September 11 attacks, made the Act virtually unstoppable.

Congress was determined to send a message to the terrorists and to give the White House what it wanted. (Derek, 2002) The real question is what message ultimate will be sent and to whom.

And it has become quite apparent that what the White House wanted by way of the PATRIOT Act is not necessary to effectively deal with the causes and incidents of terrorism. In fact, to date, no person has been arrested in the United States and charged with direct involvement in the September 11 attacks.

There are also a lot of misconceptions about the PATRIOT Act: it will sunset in a few years, the granted only limited authorities to federal agencies, it deals only with aliens or foreign nationals, and it is restrictive in length and scope. That is not so. The situation is far worse. Only very selected portions of the Act will sunset in 2005, the authorities it grants are massive, its reach conceivably can include every American, and it contains extremely extensive and detailed provisions.

Of course, since September 11 there have been many other related developments: the military tribunals, the Office of Homeland Security, bio-terrorism legislation, the new wave of aviation security, and the globalization of the war on terrorism, dramatic increases in surveillance of the public, skyrocketing military spending, the war in Afghanistan, and impending war with Iraq. Discussion of those would take us too far a field for present purposes since these developments were there parallel ...