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“政府必须要足够强大来保护自己的人民的自由,难道只能虚弱地维持自己的存在而已？”——亚伯拉罕.林肯

2001年9月11日,美国见证了国家历史上最严重的国内袭击之一。这个袭击事故是由基地组织策划,永远性地改变了政治舞台，并且美国开始处理国内外的恐怖分子。袭击发生后，美国最明显的一个反应就是外交政策的转变，其标志之一就是入侵阿富汗。战争驱逐了塔利班以及进行了一系列的搜索任务旨在消灭恐怖分子头目和成员。而美国的国内政策也有相应的改变。 [i]

9/11恐怖袭击后，美国处于恐惧和混乱中。它通过了到目前为止最深远的和最有争议的行动之一, 通过提供拦截和阻止恐怖主义行为的适当的工具来团结并强大美国。通常被称为美国爱国者法案或爱国者法案,它旨在通过增加美国的执行机构的权力来打击恐怖主义。该法案也被延伸到如洗钱等的其他罪行。[ii]众议院拟定了《爱国者法案》的实施期限为357年。

Abolition Of Liberties With The Usa Patriot Act International Law Essay

“Must a government, of necessity, be too strong for the liberties of its own people, or too weak to maintain its own existence?” – Abraham Lincoln

On September 11, 2001, the United States witnessed one of the most devastating domestic attacks in the nation’s history. The crashes, orchestrated by Al Qaeda, forever changed the political scene and America’s handling of foreign and domestic terrorists. Following the attacks, one of the United States’ most visible responses was a shift in foreign policy, marked by the invasion of Afghanistan. The war led to the Taliban’s ousting and a series of search-and-destroy missions for eliminating terrorist leaders and cells. There was also a corresponding change in America’s domestic policy. [i]

In the midst of the terror and confusion following the 9/11 attacks, the United States passed one of the most far reaching and controversial acts to date, the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act. Commonly referred to as the USA PATRIOT Act or PATRIOT Act, it was designed to combat terrorism by increasing the strength of America's executive agencies. The act also was generalized to other crimes, such as money laundering. [ii] The House of Representatives approved the PATRIOT Act with three-hundred and fifty-seven yeas. The PATRIOT Act passed through the Senate with a 98-1 vote on October 24, 2001; Senator Landrieu of Louisiana abstained from voting and Senator Feingold of Wisconsin was against its passage. [iii] In an address, Senator Feingold stated why he opposed the USA PATRIOT Act. He said “we must continue to respect our constitution and protect our civil liberties” and felt that the PATRIOT Act would infringe upon these liberties. [iv]

The Act has gone through numerous revisions and was set to expire on February 28, 2011, but the Senate, with an eighty-six to twelve vote, extended it for ninety days, until May 29. [v] The PATRIOT Act is diverse and concerns, but is not limited to, areas such as illegal aliens, search warrants, electronic privacy, wire-tapping, and a newly created crime called “domestic terrorism.” In many ways, it expanded already existing powers rather than create new ones. [vi]

The USA PATRIOT is not unique; Congress has passed laws before that have been deemed questionable or unconstitutional. Similar past actions include the Alien and Sedition Acts and the Foreign Intelligence Security Act of 1978 (FISA). The Alien and Sedition Acts of 1798 violated rights by preventing people from criticizing Congress in speech or writing and enabled the president to deport or imprison putatively harmful aliens. [vii] More recently, considered a precursor to the PATRIOT Act, the Foreign Intelligence Security Act of 1978 concerns the use of electronic surveillance. It lets the president