Usa Patriot Act

The US Patriot Act should stay in effect indefinitely because it helps to remove barriers to investigate terrorism, it strengthens the criminal laws against terrorism, and it gives the government the authority to intercept wire, oral and electronic communications relating to terrorism. "Originally passed after the September 11, 2001 attacks, the Patriot Act was formed in response to the terrorist attacks against the United States. This law dramatically expanded the authority of American law enforcement for the stated purpose of fighting terrorism in the United States. It is used to enhance domestic security against terrorism, and enhance surveillance procedures. It gives the government the authority to intercept wire, oral, and electronic communications relating to terrorism. It has also been used to detect and prosecute other alleged potential crimes, such as providing false information on terrorism. It was renewed on March 2, 2006 with a vote of 89 to 11 in the Senate and on March 7 280 to 138 in the House. The renewal was signed into law by President Bush on March 9, 2006."1 (USA Patriot Act" www.wikipedia.org on 02/08/2007).

The Patriot Act has been very important to winning the War on Terror and protecting the American people. The signed legislation allows intelligence and law enforcement officials to continue sharing information and using the same tools against terrorists already employed against drug dealers and other criminals. This legislation helps to strengthen the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) so that it can better identify and interrupt terrorist threats. It also provides law enforcement officials new tools to combat threats, while safeguarding Americans' civil liberties. America still faces dangerous enemies, and no priority is more important to the President than protecting the American people. "The Patriot Act has helped in the prosecution of terrorist operatives and supporters in California, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois Washington, and North Carolina. By means of the Patriot Act, the government is now permitted to share information so if an intelligence investigation is going on and evidence of a crime is revealed, that information can be shared with criminal investigators and criminal prosecutors so that, that information and evidence can be used in a criminal prosecution."2 (USA Patriot Act" www.whitehouse.gov accessed on 07-feb-2007). With the Patriot Act in place the American government can track down terrorist and conduct surveillance on them to help keep the American public safe.

The US Patriot Act is very useful to the public. It helps in the removal of obstacles to investigate terrorism. According to www.whitehouse.gov, "There were weapons dealers in San Diego who were interested in taking Stinger missiles from undercover FBI agents and reselling them to Al Qaida and the Taliban, and were given 600 pounds of heroin and five metric tons of hashish to the undercover FBI agents." With the information-sharing provisions of the Patriot Act, Section 218, we were able to share information with other law enforcement agencies and that resulted in the undercover operation that took these dangerous individuals out of action.

The US Patriot Act also strengthens the criminal laws against terrorism. Title VIII adds new criminal offenses, both domestic and international, relating to terrorist acts against mass transportation vehicles, ferries, etc. This title also prohibits harboring of terrorists. It adds that it is a crime to provide material support to terrorism, and it puts no statue of limitation for certain terrorist offences.

Under this law, Title VIII, the government is given the development of biological weapons statute. It also provides penalties for terrorist conspiracies and gives an alternate