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Should the federal government be allowed to secretly listen to

Americans telephone calls or intercept their email as part of


antiterrorism surveillance eff orts?

pg. 1

Argumentative Essay

Timur Ahmed
Eng. 111
11/1/15

The United States intelligence agencies must have the freedom to quickly gather
information about potential terrorist threats in order to prevent new attacks. (Domestic
Surveillance) On September 11th, 2001, at precisely 8:50 a.m., White House Chief of Staff
Andrew Card notified President George W. Bush that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. At
exactly 9:31 a.m., President Bush addressed the media, stating the events in New York City an
apparent terrorist act on our country. Everyone knows what happened approximately 28 and
58 minutes later. Both the North Tower, and South Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed.
On October 26th, 2001, The USA Patriot Act, (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing
Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act Of 2011) was signed by
George W. Bush. The Patriot Act was passed mainly because of the 9/11 attacks and the anthrax
attacks. The anthrax attacks took place over a couple of weeks starting from September 18th,
2001. Letters that contained Anthrax spores were mailed to several news media offices and two
democratic senators. (Domestic Surveillance). The letters ended up killing five people and
infecting seventeen others. Because of these two very deadly acts and security concerns,
Congress rushed into passing the bill as soon as they could, in order to strengthen security. The
Patriot Act gives law enforcement officers the right to search a home or business without the
owners or the occupants consent or knowledge. The expanded use of NSLs, which allow the

Should the federal government be allowed to secretly listen to


Americans telephone calls or intercept their email as part of
antiterrorism surveillance eff orts?

pg. 2

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to search telephone, e-mail, and all financial records
without a court order, and the expanded access of law enforcement agencies to business records,
including library and financial records. The federal government should be allowed to keep a
close watch on its citizens. Mainly because of the security threats that the U.S. receives on a
daily basis from terrorists, and other hazards.

The first reason why the federal government should be allowed to spy on U.S. citizens is
because it helps to prevent terrorism while posing little risk to the civil liberties of citizens. Sales
says that: The law simply lets counter terrorism agents use tools that police officers have used
for decades.(Sales) Its not as bad as it sounds, when Congress authorized roving wiretaps
about thirty years ago, (court orders that allow police to monitor criminals even if they switch
phones) no one complained. With the Patriot Act, it allows the same thing, but in terrorism
investigations. It wouldnt make sense to authorize roving wiretaps, but not for a greater national
threat and a greater security threat. Also, the Patriot Act has very strict rules. Federal agents cant
eavesdrop without a judges permission to do so. Once again, the Patriot Act has a lot of
safeguards. Agents first have to convince a judge to let them track a lone wolf. It can only be
used to investigate international terrorism, not domestic. On top of that, it only applies to
tourists, not Americans.
The second reason why the federal government should be able to spy on its citizens is
because a close watch on citizens may allow the government to foresee a plot against the United

Should the federal government be allowed to secretly listen to


Americans telephone calls or intercept their email as part of
antiterrorism surveillance eff orts?

pg. 3

States of America before it actually happens. The FBI and CIA use the Patriot Act to spy on
specific citizens who are on lists identified as possible threats. Mainly, the ones who recently
became United States citizens. There are no random wiretaps, they go off of a computer and use
a tactic known as data mining. The agents might type a word like terrorist into a computer
and will search for that word throughout computers in the entire country. If found, they will look
at the document and if it is not just a random search but in-depth searches and/or very graphic
emails sent out of the country for example, then they are presented with the probable cause that
they need in order to wiretap a person or track them. Since 9/11, the United States Government
has caught seventeen potential acts of terrorism using this tactic, before they actually occurred.
The third reason why the United States government should be able to spy on its citizens is
because of the recent events that just took place in Paris, France this year. The acts of terrorism
in Paris, which killed twelve at the Charlie Hebdo magazine and four in a kosher market.
(Brown, Floyd). Charlie Hebdo was the head of a controversial yet, popular magazine in France.
The magazine depicted the Prophet Muhammad in foolish and disrespectful ways. The terrorist
acts that took place in such an advanced country such as France shocked the American public. If
it can happen there, why cant it happen here? Its because of the Patriot Act that it thankfully
didnt. The French government, in the wake of the tragedy, came to the American Government
seeking help in tracking down the origin of the terrorist attacks.
The fourth reason why the United States government should be able to spy on its citizens
is because overall, its for the safety of the general public and the citizens. The United States

Should the federal government be allowed to secretly listen to


Americans telephone calls or intercept their email as part of
antiterrorism surveillance eff orts?

pg. 4

Government didnt create the Patriot Act to harm us. It was actually made for exactly the
opposite reason. The reason why the U.S. hasnt been attacked in a major shape or form since 911 is solely because of the Patriot Act. In conclusion, the act is helping us, not hurting us.

Should the federal government be allowed to secretly listen to


Americans telephone calls or intercept their email as part of
antiterrorism surveillance eff orts?

pg. 5

Works Cited:

Brown, Floyd. "Any Potential for NSA Reform Dies in Paris". Wallstreet Daily. np. 13 January
2015. Web. 20 October 2015.

Domestic Surveillance. Issues & Controversies. Infobase Learning, 18 Nov. 2010.Web. 20


October.2015.<http://icof.infobaselearning.com.ezproxy.vccs.edu:2048/recordurl.aspx?
ID=1626>.

Sales A. Nathan. The Patriot Act Is a Vital Weapon in Fighting Terrorism. The New York
Times. np. 23 May 2014. Web. 21 October 2015.

U.S. court will not halt NSA phone spy program before ban. Reuters. Issues & Controversies.
Infobase Learning, 29 Oct. 2015. Web. 20 October 2015.
<http://icof.infobaselearning.com.ezproxy.vccs.edu:2048/icofnewstopic.aspx?
reutersID=242391>.

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