An In-depth Analysis of the USA PATRIOT Act: Pros and Cons

The assignment delves into the USA PATRIOT Act, a law enacted by President George W. Bush to enhance American national security through various surveillance and investigative tools aimed at preventing terrorist activities. It examines both supportive perspectives, which argue that the Act has successfully prevented major terrorist attacks since September 11, 2001, and critical viewpoints, highlighting concerns over privacy infringement and excessive government power. The analysis involves reviewing scholarly articles that debate the necessity of the Act in balancing national security needs against civil liberties.

Running head: PATRIOT ACT 1
PATRIOT ACT
Name
Institution

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INTRODUCTION
Patriot act is an act that was assigned into law by President George W. Bush with the
intention of uniting and strengthening American by application of appropriate tools needed for
interception and obstruction of terrorist activities. The article will focus on the pros and cons of
the Patriot Act.
Pros Articles
Journal of Civil Discourse
The journal describes patriot act as a piece of legislation that covers hundreds of pages in
printed form. It categorizes in sections such as section 101 that is made to provide resources for
reimbursement of the people affected by event September 11 and for investigation and
prosecution of terrorists. The article embraces the act supporting that there are two primary
legitimate goals which are the protection of national security and respect for individual rights
("In Defense of the Patriot Act," n.d.). It explains that despite lack of any attack lately do not
mean that there are no people who hate the success of America.
The Sunset Clause
The article only keeps its effect up to 2005 where after its expiration the government
review the act for its performance then decide on the second implementation of the bill.
Supporters of the law argue that the statute has played a significant role as there have no major
terrorist activities in the country since September 11 (Whitehead & Aden, 2001). Therefore, it
makes the supporter gain confidence in the implementation of the next patriot act. They point out

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that the purpose of the law is mainly increasing the national security and acting as the shield
between citizens and terrorist.
Patriot Act: A civil liberties breach or a foreign policy necessity
The journal is demonstrating the purpose of the act as to increase national security of the
country. It shows that terrorist cannot operate within the state as the government is linked to all
information centers such as banks statements, library records and emails without the consent of
the owners ("Patriot Act: A civil liberties breach or a foreign policy necessity? | Foreign Policy
Journal," 2011). Also, they claim that the owner-employees’ cooperation among government
agencies such as the FBI and CIA.
Those against Patriot Act
Journal of liberty afire
It is a journal that dominates with the opponents of the bill, such as the American library
association of research libraries says that the act threatens the freedom and rights of the public (,
n.d.). Also, the law looks down on confidentiality that is vital for the flow of the information
required for the library services. Therefore, as a result of the threat of library information, people
have refrained from serving information from research resources out of fear of the patriot act.
Snowden hails end of patriot Act in NYT op-ed
The writer is vindicated by the action of the government not to review the new bill which
he advocates against the mass surveillance. The writer concern is the fact that the National
Security Agency has been making records for the whole United States ("Snowden hails end of

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PATRIOT Act in NYT op-ed," 2015). He unveils the introduction of the private programs being
in the countries such as Russia yet they are some of the countries hosting them. Through this
publication, the various lawmaker has enough evidence on the patriot act.
Journal of law and society
In the article, many of the people against the idea argue that the laws threaten rights of
the people in the houses and papers; hence violating the rights of the citizen ("Patriot Act Gives
Too Much Power to Law Enforcement - NYTimes.com," 2011). Also, it provides on probable
cause issue of warranties supported by oath or affirmation from the court.
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References
In Defense of the Patriot Act. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/defense-
the-patriot-act-6102
Patriot Act: A civil liberties breach or a foreign policy necessity? | Foreign Policy Journal. (2011, July 15).
Retrieved from https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2011/06/17/patriot-act-a-civil-liberties-
breach-or-a-foreign-policy-necessity/
Retrieved from http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1002&context=themis
Snowden hails end of PATRIOT Act in NYT op-ed. (2015, June 5). Retrieved from
https://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/edward-snowden-nyt-op-ed-patriot-act-end-118678
The Patriot Act Gives Too Much Power to Law Enforcement - NYTimes.com. (2011, September 7).
Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/09/07/do-we-still-need-the-
patriot-act/the-patriot-act-gives-too-much-power-to-law-enforcement
Snowden hails end of PATRIOT Act in NYT op-ed. (2015, June 5). Retrieved from
https://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/edward-snowden-nyt-op-ed-patriot-act-end-118678
Whitehead, J. W., & Aden, S. H. (2001). Forfeiting enduring freedom for homeland security: A
constitutional analysis of the USA Patriot Act and the Justice Department's anti-terrorism
initiatives. Am. UL Rev., 51, 1081.