In her essay, P. Williams says the war on terror is a new kind of war because we are not fighting a specific country or a regular army with uniforms. Instead, it is a war against a tactic and hidden groups. It is different from traditional wars in a few simple ways:

• There are no borders or clear enemy lines. The people we are fighting blend into regular civilian crowds.
• There is no clear way to end it. In old wars, one country surrenders and signs a peace treaty. You cannot really do that with a hidden group, so the war feels like it has no end date.
• The rules are different. Regular armies usually follow certain international laws of war, but terrorist groups do not follow any rules and target regular people.

Roving wiretaps seem to violate the Fourth Amendment, which protects our right to privacy and stops unreasonable searches. Normally, the police need a warrant that lists the exact phone or place they want to search. But a roving wiretap lets the government listen to any phone or device a suspect might use.This seems like a violation because if a suspect goes to a coffee shop, a public library, or a friend’s house, the government can wiretap those places too. That means innocent regular people who use the same computers or phones are getting their privacy invaded without a real warrant.

Sneak and peek warrants also go against the Fourth Amendment. Usually, when police search your house, they have to knock, show you the warrant, and tell you what they are doing. A sneak and peek warrant lets the police secretly break into your home or office while you are not there, look through your things, take photos, and leave without telling you until weeks or months later. This feels like a violation of the Bill of Rights because you have no idea the government was even inside your house, and you do not get a chance to defend your privacy or challenge the search right away.