Patriot Act - Research Paper Example

Though there is some opposition to this act, with the opponents arguing that it has some abuse on the civil liberty and discourages free speech (Mascaro, W06). The opponents also argue that the act jeopardizes the privacy and the freedom of the American citizens, by legalizing the surveillance of their private life activities by the government. However, this notwithstanding, the act has gone a long way in ensuring the safety of the American people against terrorist attacks. Through the ability to intercept telephone lines and internet messages, the act allows the government to spy all the activities of the terror groups and individuals, and serve to apprehend those involved in such plans, just before the attack is full-blown (Mac Donald, 23).

The act has many other provision all meant to guard against the planning and execution of criminal and terror attacks within the US and its other areas of Jurisdiction. Under this section 215 of the Act, the director of Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) or a designee of the director may make an application for an order requiring the suspected individuals to produce anything tangible may it be books, papers, documents, for use in investigation against international terrorism (Mac Donald, 11).

Such applications are to be made to a judge, who then grants the director such orders authorizing the suspect to produce such tangibles. However, such orders shall not disclose that they are issued for such investigations (Steranko, 36). The information that the FBI has sought such tangibles is not to be disclosed by any one, the person from whom they are sought inclusive. This section has served to protect the lives of the American people against terrorism. This is because, it allows the intelligence agencies to investigate suspected terrorists well in advance and that guard against a likelihood of them organizing and perpetrating terrorist attacks (Keller, A2).

For example, this section allows the FBI to wiretap communication or obtain an order to search a home of an individual they suspect is an agent of foreign power, or a member of a terror network, without prior notice of search a search to the individual. The only concern the opponents raises is that there is no adequate protection against such violations occurring in the future. The section has effectively eliminated the limitations associated with specific target people and group from whom the materials and information is to be sought, since it is not possible to predict who the terrorist and the criminals are.

By providing for the acquisition of such information from any one and any place, the provision ensures a complete coverage of all areas that are likely to be sources of terrorist threats, even when such sources are disguised. This is important, since libraries and bookstores can be a vital source of information for the terrorists and criminals. Section 805 of the Patriot Act makes provisions, which makes any offer of material support to terrorist or terrorist organizations in the US illegal (Mascaro, W06).

The definition of crime under this section is broadened to illegalize the provision of support to include monetary instruments, financial securities, and any form of expertise advice or assistance (Steranko, 38). This section has served to protect the American people from terrorist attack, through ensuring that no support is obtained domestically by the terrorist from their terror networks or