Terrorism and patriot act Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Terrorism and patriot act - Coursework Example Over 3000 people lost their lives. While America was still recovering from the shock of this barbaric act on its home soil, President George W. Bush lost no time in pursuit of the culprits. He ordered airstrikes on likely hideouts of Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. At the administrative level, he promulgated the Patriot Act 2001 and established the Department of Homeland Security to help deal with all further threats and protect the borders of the USA and its people. Some sweeping powers were given to these personnel to track, apprehend and arrest possible suspects who wanted to harm America and its interests. The extent of these powers is a matter of debate, as many opine that it violates the rights of privacy and freedom as guaranteed under the U.S Constitution (Worrall, 2011). The Patriot Act was signed into Law by President Bush on October 26, 2001, just over a month and a half after the events of September 11. The Act has 10 separate sections, one each relating to enhancing domestic security against terrorism, surveillance procedures, anti-money-laundering, removing obstacles to investigations, information sharing, criminal law, terrorism intelligence and border security. Many sections were due to sunset after four years, but they were extended by President Obama in the larger public interest (CLDC, 2012). Among the most contentious of the powers under Section 213 is that of arresting someone on mere suspicion of being a terrorist, and that of searching his or her house without a warrant. Section 218 allows for wiretapping of such suspect’s every means of communication. Under Section 805, anybody even suspected of giving advice or assistance to a terrorist would be liable for arrest and prosecution. Granted that we have to nip terrorism in the bud, but such measures are a close call to violating the privacy and integrity of American citizens and go against the widely held precept of ‘innocent till proven