Patriot Act
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It has come to my attention that there is still a lot controversy about the Uniting and
Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism
Act, which is commonly known as “Patriot Act” passed by Congress, in response to the terrorist attacks
of September 11, 2001. Many critics indicate that “Patriot Act” will not protect United States from terrorist attacks, simply because it encourages law enforcement to employ racial profiling and targeting. I think people who are opposed to “Patriot Act” do not quite understand why this specific act have been passed by Congress and signed by President Bush. It is crucial to understand why America needed this act to protect and prevent the country from days like September 11. Therefore, Congress with the leadership of President Bush made the first step to protect the country from terrorists and passed “Patriot Act” which simply increase U.S. law enforcement powers, increase the availability of high-technology law enforcement tools, and increase the penalties for terrorists who commit acts of terrorism (www.humaneventsonline.com, September 12, 2003.by Kevin V. Ryan). We needed this act to protect our citizens and prevent our country from terrorism.
Before September 11, law enforcement officers, such as FBI agents, national security officials
had very strict limitations on sharing critical information with each other, state and local police
departments. For instance, one group of the FBI knows something potential terrorist, but they cannot
discuss this particular matter with any other group of FBI agents because of the unmoral law that would
not give permission to do that (George W. Bush, address at Hershey Lodge and Convention Center,
Hershey, Pennsylvania, April 19, 2004). Now, the “Patriot Act” has changed that dramatically, law
enforcement officials can share information to better prevent an attack on America and chase the
terrorists around the world. However, many critics complains that “Patriot Act” encourages law
enforcement to use racial profiling and targeting, which means that If you have dark skin and black chair
and long beard you are a terrorist. This usually refers to Arab and Muslim people, who look similar to
the given above description. Nevertheless, the “Patriot Act” contains a provision condemning
discrimination against Arab and Muslim Americans, who cannot be blamed for who they are and how
they look (www.humaneventsonline.com, September 12, 2003.by Kevin V. Ryan). President Bush signed
the “Patriot Act” to improve the sharing information process between all law enforcement agencies.
Another important reason that we should be in favor of “Patriot Act”