Levin’s target audience is Americans because his use of American symbolism such as “July 4,” and “unconstitutional.” In addition, the United States is not the only victim of terrorist attacks. Many countries around the world also fall prey to terrorism. According to Levin, begins his essay with a brief description of how he believes that societies view the subject of torture as negative thing. He justifies his reasoning on torture by allowing it in order to save innocent lives. Levin’s second claim is that the judicial system is a slow process when time is a factor and the only way to speed it up is by torture.
Due to the events of the 11th September 2001 the USA began its war on terror, and specifically targeted was George Bush’s ‘axis of evil’ which included; Iran, Iraq and North Korea. The USA used their war on terror so to legitimise their actions worldwide thus destroying any hopes for a post cold war collective international security, therefore basing their response to international aggression on protecting their own national interests. This is seen with the invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001. Together with Britain they acted unilaterally in order to remove the al-Qaeda and capture bin Laden, who was the prime suspect for the 9/11 attacks. The USA believed its actions were justified by labelling them as self defence under Article 51 of the UN charter.
One of the most alarming problems that the United States of America faces at the moment, is that of illegal immigration. This statement stems from the fact that there are now over 12,000 illegal aliens residing in the US. The sheer number of people trying to cross the border by all methods imaginable has risen to the point that the country has been forced to start the construction of a 2,000 mile long fence along the Mexican-American border, which they hope will discourage the intruders. A majority of these people have been hoping to take advantage of the 14th Amendment, which permits birthright citizenship. Therefore the constitution should be amended to disallow birthright citizenship.
As a result, courts often look for signs that Congress has either supported or opposed the President’s actions and rest their decisions on statutory grounds. (Bradley,2010). When people are caught that have harmed or attempted to harm Americas then I do feel that they need to be punished and held until they have served their time or until they can be placed in a prison somewhere else if Guantanamo Bay is closed. In the days immediately following the 11 September 2001 attacks on the USA, the Bush Administration implemented several measures to respond to what it interpreted as acts of war. President Bush proclaimed a national state of emergency.
In this paper we will examine the impact of 9/11 on Americans and the U.S. economy and why the U.S. responded to the terrorism by enacting the USA Patriot act to “protect” America, which had become a big controversial issue to Americans. Another topic we will discuss is the negative effects of the Patriot Act such as violating Americans civil liberties and how the government stereotyped and secretly arrested Arab or Muslim citizens. The tragedy of 9/11 has impacted America in many ways and ever since then, America has made a lot of changes to prevent another tragedy, such as the national security which is tighter than it has ever been in recent years, especially in airports. According to Jennie Wood’s article, she mentions that the airport has way too many restrictions on what to bring in the plane for every traveler, such as, “Liquids and toiletries have to be a certain size and placed in clear, sealed bags. No food or bottled water is allowed through security.
The Destruction of the American Freedom An instruction memo, discarded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) states, “under certain circumstances, the FBI has the ability to bend or suspend the law and impinge upon the freedom of others”. Federal counter-terrorism agencies like FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) protect citizens and the constitution of the United States of America.. However, what happens when these agencies stop believing in the laws they are to enforce? In the novel, Little Brother by Cory Doctorow, the DHS, turns San Francisco into a police state and break the law they are to preserve. The DHS is so determined to protect society from terrorism that ultimately they destroy the freedom that they are striving to protect.
About a month an a half after the tragic attacks the United States government passed a new law called the USA Patriot Act, signed by President at the time George W. Bush. The USA PATRIOT ACT is an acronym that stands for Uniting (and) Strengthening America (by) Providing Appropriate Tools Required (to) Intercept (and) Obstruct Terrorism Act (gpo.gov). The PATRIOT ACT posses a greater threat to American liberty than terrorism itself. This is true because the PATRIOT ACT gives the government undemocratic power that is immoral to society, it directly violates amendments and there have been actual cases where the PATRIOT ACT harmed innocent people and was used unsuccessfully. Firstly, if the government of the United States tried to pass the PATRIOT ACT of 2001 today, they would have a much tougher time.
On September 11, 2001, the United States was invaded for the first time since the War of 1812 also known as “America’s second war of Independence”. Terrorist’s that had been living in America boarded and hijacked civilian airlines, leading to the deaths of many American’s. By no means should we forfeit all Individual Privacy Rights but we should find a way to work with the government that protects us to better our National Security. The terrorist acts of 9/11 forced the U.S Government to take action and create the USA Patriot Act, signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 26, 2001. This act reduced the restrictions for U.S. agencies gathering information and intelligence within the United States.
USA Patriot Act of 2001 As a result of September 11th and the 2001 anthrax attacks, congress passed the USA Patriot act. It was developed as an effort to protect and prevent the society from in future foreign or domestic terrorist. Once the act was passed and put into place, people immediate noticed some possible limitations to the act. The USA Patriot act has some aspects that protect the people very well, while other aspects create more risk for the society. The USA Patriot act is a legislation passed by congress for stronger security controls ("USA patriot act," 2001).
Critics also said the bill would provide a blueprint for the establishment of police state and “Big Brother” tactics, doing away with civil liberties by opening the door to widespread electronic surveillance, and constraining personal freedom. For example, anyone identified as a terrorist or even a possible associate of a terrorist might be subject to surveillance, interrogation and secret detention. If the president determined the suspect is an “enemy combatant,” that person – even a U.S. citizen- may be held indefinitely, without access to a lawyer or family members. If the suspect had visa status, he/she might be interrogated and then deported after a secret meeting. Overall, the impact on personal freedoms would depend on the person involved (Van Bergen,