Reverse Terrorism

Paper Summary:

The paper discusses how in a time of desperation, Congress granted the president and his executive branch subordinates emergency power which was summarized in the Patriot Act. This new law allowed the FBI and Department of Justice free reign to examine information on any person they arbitrarily deemed "a threat". The paper notes that any person using a phone or computer may have his communications intercepted. Thus the paper comments that in order to restore our original freedom, we must encourage the legislative and judicial branches to maintain their former power in order that we we may continue to be a land of freedom.

Outline:
Absolute power corrupts absolutely
Ignoring the fourth amendment
Freedom to Enslave
Unchecked Power
Checks and Balances
Disarming the Dictator
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"In order to achieve total intelligence worldwide, according to the Bush administration, the American government must remove the delay and restraints associated with searches and surveillance. The Patriot Act strengthened the use of "national security letters", or NSLs. The earliest inception of NSLs was in 1978 (D. Cole, 2007). These letters were used to acquire personal information about a target of terrorist or espionage investigations, with little judicial review. Instilled in each NSL is a "gag order"; a clause of non-disclosure that forbids anyone involved in the use of the NSL to reveal its contents. These letters were originally used in extreme cases; however, the Patriot Act increased the usage of NSLs to include domestic targets as well. Additionally, the already lax judicial control was weakened even further, and the NSL could be used on any person the government saw as an imminent threat, without question."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Audit: FBI misused U.S.A. patriot act. (2007). American Libraries, 38 (4). pp. 20-21
• Cole, D. (2007). The patriot act violates our civil liberties. Is the patriot act unconstitutional? Retrieved Tuesday, June 26, 2007 from <http://encarta.msn.com/sidebar_701713501/Is_the_Patriot_Act_Unconstitutional.html#appearsin>
• Confirming predictions, FBI abuses law aimed at terrorists. (2007). USA Today, p. 12a. Retrieved June 26, 2007 from Academic Search Premier.
• Herman, S. (2001). The U.S.A. patriot act and the U.S. department of justice: Losing our balance? In D. Okerstrom (Ed.), Peace, war, and terrorism (pp.103-109). New York. Pearson.
• Oder, N. (2007). Criticism over patriot act use. Library Journal, 132 (6). pp. 14-15

More papers on Reverse Terrorism:

• Analytical Essay # 74138 : "History of Terrorism"
• Research Paper # 97443 : "International Terrorism"
• Term Paper # 147777 : "Obama's Policy on torture"

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