Dakota Dickey – Module 9.2 America Post Patriot Act
P. Williams writes in her essay, that the war on terror is a new type of a war. What’s new about it, how is it different from traditional wars?
There are many differences with the war terror to the wars that we have fought in the past, is that there is no one central location nor one central evil empire. The evil empire being fought in the war on terror is whoever the powers that be declare to be the enemy. Whether this be the terrorists involved in an attack to install terror on the United States or whether it be somebody “they” assumed to be the enemy. The tricky part with this is somebody who has no involvement could be made to seem like they are involved. Traditional wars in the past like World War II were fought against evil empires the Germans, the Italians, the Japanese. The Cold War was fought against communism, similar to the war terror communism was a worldwide threat, but there was one “big, bad evil empire.”
In what ways does the “Roving Wiretaps” of the Patriot Act seem to violate the Bill of Rights? Which amendment(s) does it seem to violate and why?
Roving wiretaps allows the gov to monitor any devices that are suspect without specifying which on. This violates the 4th amendment, which was put into place to protect against this unreasonable search and seizures. This violation does not require investigating or anyone involved to name the exct place or person being searched. The largest issue is that you risk incriminating innocent people who may or may not have come in contact with the suspect.
What about “Sneak and Peek” Warrants?
Sneak and Peeks allow the FBI to search your home or place of business without telling you right away. The Fourth Amendment requires immediate notice and judicial oversight but. Delayed notice disrupts that safeguard. People say this power has been used for minor crimes, not just terrorism, expanding surveillance power without proper limits.
