USA PATRIOT Act
On 9/11, the world was shocked and awed by the scenes of destruction and mayhem that unfolded in the United States of America. The carnage that unfolded that fateful day made it quite clear that the United States had entered a new era of constitutional interpretation. Never before has an unconventional enemy ever been able to inflict such damage with an unprecedented attack on American soil. Shortly after this attack, American lawmakers constructed the controversial Provide Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA PATRIOT Act). There are many new or expanded laws in the USA PATRIOT Act. Some of the laws are seen, by some groups, as unconstitutional, and some groups say that the new laws are a necessity to combat or deter terrorism. Perhaps one of the biggest proponents of the PATRIOT Act is the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The FBI states that the PATRIOT Act allows the sharing of intelligence and it effectively tears down "the Wall" (Baginski, 2005, para 9). "The Wall" is a barrier that prevents various intelligence organizations from sharing intelligence. This lack of intelligence sharing plagued the FBI and other intelligence services prior to 9/11 and contributed to the events that unfolded on 9/11. The USA PATRIOT Act effectively allows the sharing of all intelligence amongst agencies that are conducting terrorism investigations. Not only does the USA PATRIOT Act strengthen the intelligence gathering and dissemination process, but the USA PATRIOT Act also strengthens and enhances the government's overall border security posture.
The USA PATRIOT Act allows tighter security a ...