Federal Policy Changes Due to September 11
The terrorist attacks on New York and Washington D.C. illustrated howvulnerable our country really is to terrorist attacks. They also showedthe lack of security and readiness in most of the nation's airports andplaces of entry. The Federal Government realized it must take a hard lookat security policies, and create new policies to guide the nation throughits' time of grieving and even fear. The government created the HomelandSecurity department, which is in charge of protecting the nation, as wellas warning the nation of terrorism threats with their color-coded terrorismwarning system. Green means the threat is lowest, and red means the threatis the highest. The Homeland Security department also created muchstricter standards for inspecting airline passengers, and created the "USAPATRIOT Act," which in essence gives intelligence bureaus the right to spyand catch transmissions via phone, computer, and other areas if the agencyfeels they are a threat to national safety and well being. The PATRIOT Actis highly contentious because many people feel their citizens' rights areat stake. They feel the country is turning into "big brother," with fartoo much power and might over the people. One w
This is a majorundertaking, and it seems doubtful that all terrorism can ever beeliminated. The purpose ofthe act is stated, "To deter and punish terrorist acts in the United Statesand around the world, to enhance law enforcement investigatory tools, andfor other purposes" ("Act," 2001). The ability to combat terrorism isparamount, but the ability to distinguish between terrorist activities andother activities should also be paramount. The main resource the government created to combat terrorism was theStrategy for Homeland Security, which ultimately led to the Patriot Act andthe creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Themost contentious part of the act are the intelligence measures that open upthe nation's records to Federal scrutiny. The "other purposes" clause worries somany Americans, as it basically leaves the act wide open to interpretationas to what they can investigate and why. One section of the act statesthe records will be open, "for the purpose of preventing, detecting, andinvestigating various forms of electronic crimes, including potentialterrorist attacks against critical infrastructure and financial paymentsystems" ("Act," 2001). Among other things, the act alsospells out additional security on the nation's borders, victim assistanceto victims of terrorism, and the ability to track money and money-laundering schemes that might provide funds for terrorist activities. While the main purpose of the department is to "secure"the nation from further terrorist attacks, the department is also in chargeof warning of attacks, securing the nations' borders and entry stations,and creating emergency plans in case of further attacks. If sanctions and privacy issuescontinue or grow, it will be interesting to see the reaction of a peoplewho are used to their safety, but used to their unalienable right tofreedom, too. government is much more uncompromising as a result ofterrorism, and some of the nations of the world do not welcome or approveof this new status. homeland from terrorist attacks" ("Strategy,"2002). However, the Homeland Security department has actually taken on afar larger task. As the nation reflects on the terrorist attacks, the first and seeminglyenduring reaction is to protect against more attacks while zeroing in on Al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations around the world.
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