Patriot Act brings peace

By Dan Sandiford
Collegian Staff
September 20, 2006

This past week, we experienced the fifth anniversary of the attacks of Sept. 11. This fateful event has defined our generation and has changed the way we view the world and ourselves. Thousands of innocent people were murdered on our soil right before our eyes. Those mighty symbols of our success and national identity, the towers, were destroyed in just a few short minutes. Through the destruction and violence, Americans demanded answers, and they demanded better security so that attacks like this could never happen again.

The Bush Administration responded to this call to action immediately. National security was made a top priority, and for the first time since the Cold War, a President was pro-active in making good decisions for our security. One of the highlights of Bush’s security plan was the Patriot Act. This act has saved lives and has given our law enforcement agencies the tools they need to thwart future terror attacks.

There are several ways in which the Patriot Act has helped secure our nation. Law enforcement agencies were given the ability to use technology and other tools already in use to fight drug trafficking and organized crime. The Act gave us the ability to gather information about terror-related crimes. Law enforcement agencies have also been given the ability to delay warning to terror suspects that they will be issued a search warrant. Judges will still have to approve a search warrant, and notification still has to be given to the suspects; however, the government has the ability to conduct an investigation without the terrorists being tipped off. This method has been used for decades against organized crime and drug traffickers and has been highly effective. This has also been upheld in the courts as perfectly legal and constitutional in Dalia v. U.S., 441 U.S. 238 (1979).

The Patriot Act has also removed many of the legal barriers that kept law enforcement agencies from working together. Investigators were able to use Section 218 of the Patriot Act to stop terrorists involved in the “Virginia Jihad” case. Several law enforcement agencies were able to work together and successfully defend our security. Nine terror suspects were investigated and caught training and planning for a terrorist attack in the Northern Virginia area. They were convicted and are currently in jail rather than killing people, due in large part to the Patriot Act.

Law enforcement agents now also have the ability to get a search warrant wherever it is needed in terror cases. In the past, search warrants had to be obtained in each individual district which the search was being carried out. The problem with this is that terrorist activities were taking place in several different districts at the same time and officials would have to wait for several warrants to be issued before they could take action. The Patriot Act gives officials the ability to get a single search warrant that spans several districts. This speeds up our ability to take action against these terrorists and bring them to justice.

The left-wing American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has made many statements targeting the Patriot Act. The organization has especially gone after Section 215 by saying, “The secrecy that surrounds Section 215 leads us to a society where the ‘thought police’ can target us for what we choose to read or what Web sites we visit.” This is not true. The Patriot Act does allow for officials to search business records of a person, such as library records; however, the government has to be given permission from a federal judge first. Terrorists have a history of using libraries and other research facilities to get further knowledge on how to build weapons or where to use these weapons effectively. It is important to note that the government must go through a federal court, and every six months the Attorney General has to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on how exactly these searches are being implemented. The Committee has yet to find any problems with this method.

The Patriot Act is working. It has given law enforcement agencies the tools they need to protect us. The ACLU does not have the best interests of the United States in mind, with its left wing agenda. If we want to avoid more terror attacks and loss of life, action needs to be taken that will allow us to defend ourselves at home. We have terrorists living amongst us in our towns and cities. The simple fact is that they want to kill us and destroy our way of life because they hate us. This is a new type of war that demands new types of laws.

sandifordd1@lasalle.edu