FBI Wish List: The Patriot Act

This is an essay that I wrote on May 24, 2002. It was a school project that I had write for my class called, Leadership In Crisis. It was a class all about 9/11. I just wanted to share what I wrote. You might find it interesting. I hope no one gets offended or anything, though I don't see why..


On September 11th, 2001 four American airplanes were hijacked by Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda network, which brought down the Twin Towers in New York City and destroyed part of the Pentagon in Washington D.C. Since the attack, the United States government has been trying to improve security all across the country by using new types of technology, having more security personnel at airports, and changing laws supposedly to keep Americans safe.
The President, military, other government officials, and the police have been infringing upon our rights. The government passed a new law called the Patriot Act(Provide Appropriate, Tools, Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism), but they are contradicting the laws that are meant to protect all of us, the citizens and our rights to freedom.
Since 9-11 there have been a number of racial profiling cases by airport security in an effort to stop potential terrorist attacks. A woman named Samar Kaukab was taken aside by O'Hare International Airport personnel in Chicago. She was searched numerous times and detained not because she posed any type of threat but only because of her head covering, called a Hijab, identified her as Muslim. (ACLU, 2002) She went through security check points and did not set off any alarms but still she had her upper body patted down, and they even pulled her bra straps and unhooked it. All this was done in public. The security guards even told her to remove her hijab which is against the Muslim religion. A woman is not to show her hair in front of men and in public. She told them she would not remove the hijab. She told them many times, but would in a private room with female personnel in order to before comply with the request. After she took off the hijab they searched her again, and this time ran their hands in her hair, unbuttoned her sweater, and unzipped her pants. (ACLU, 2002) This was certainly an unnecessary search since she didn't even set off any alarms. This has not been the only case in which people who look like they are of Muslim origin have been targeted. There was another case where a 17 year old girl was intimidated into removing her hijab in public. (ACLU, 2002) Searches such as these have resulted in only law suits against the government. No terrorists have been caught so far in these types of searches.
President Bush, while visiting an Islamic Center in Washington D.C. on September 17, 2001, stated, "...Those who feel like they can intimidate our fellow citizens to take out their anger don't represent the best of America, they represent the worst of humankind, and they should be ashamed of that kind of behavior." (Robinson, 2002) But as the President condemned bias crimes, our U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft stated when asked if the government should apologize to those who were wrongly accused and detained said " No." He stood firm saying that every person arrested or detained had broken the law. It was reported that "To help 'disrupt and eliminate' terrorist networks, he launched a nationwide dragnet, sweeping up hundreds of foreign nationals, detaining most on minor immigration charges. Many have since been released after officials concluded they have no connection to terrorism." (Newsweek, 2001) This show that the President's message about respect towards Middle Eastern immigrants is being contradicted by what Ashcroft says. Bush is trying to look like he stands for justice for all, but the people he hired to fight for the same rights are doing exactly the opposite.
Not only does the Patriot Act contradict our rights but Ashcroft and President Bush contradict each other. The Patriot Act seems to be a step backwards, rewriting the Constitution to accommodate the government in the "Fight Against Terrorism". The Patriot Act allows government officials to detain immigrants with minor visa violations. Government officials have more leeway on conducting secret searches. The FBI can access personal records for so called "Intelligence" purposes, they only need to show the court that it is relevant. They can gain access to business, medical, mental health, financial, educational, and travel records. If the U.S. Attorney General has legitimate reason to believe that a non-citizen poses a threat to national security he can have that person deported and labeled a terrorist. Even associations and domestic groups that protest can be labeled terrorists. Especially if these groups have carried out minor acts of violence and/or vandalism these acts can be considered "Acts of Terrorism." (ACLU)
The Patriot Act also allows unconstitutional wire taps, and searches, even physical searches, without probable cause. The Patriot Act allows the FBI to get personal student information for the purpose of "statistical research." This is very devious because it used to be hard for FBI agents to get this information. They can now get information on any student even if he or she has done nothing wrong. Previously student information was not to be given, but now under the Patriot Act, it only requires a court order. All the FBI has to say is that it is needed for an investigation. (ACLU)
The ACLU ( American Civil Liberties Union) stated that the Patriot Act gives " enormous, unwarranted power to the executive branch unchecked by meaningful judicial review, Most of the new powers can be used against American citizens in counter terrorism investigations and in routine criminal investigations completely unrelated to terrorism." (Hentoff, 2002) The Patriot Act is 175 pages long and when voted for (337 to 79) most of the members of Congress didn't even have the time to read it all. Congressman John Conyers, stated that only two copies were available to his side of the aisle (Hentoff, 2001). How could the government pass this, if not all the members had a copy to read? Another critic of the Patriot Act said that it, "goes into a lot of areas that have nothing to do with terrorism and have a lot to do with the government and the FBI having a wish list of things they want to do..." (Hentoff, 2001) It seems that the Patriot Act is a 175 page manual of loop holes to the Constitution. Do we really want to have representatives who don't care enough to read the entire bill before making it into a law? The congressmen were so lazy on this important life and history changing decision. This should make voters think carefully about who they will vote for when elections come around. Our governments abuse of it's constitutional authority is not the only cause for concern. There also have been incidents of private citizens abusing people of Middle Eastern origin and even people who only look like they may be of Middle Eastern descent. Since 9-11 there appear to have been far more bias crimes than the media tells us. In Gary, Indiana a man named Hassan Awdah was shot 20 times with an assault rifle, and survived. He is a U.S. citizen. (Robinson, 2001) In Huntington, New York a 75 year old man named Adam Lang (75 years old) was drunk and driving. He tried to kill a Pakistani woman with his car. He also followed her into a store and told her he was going to kill her for "destroying my country". (Robinson, 2001) In October another women who is Latina was attacked and sexually assaulted by two men who called her a "lesbian terrorist". She was not even of Middle Eastern descent (Delgado, 2002).

Americans citizen should realize that just because someone is of a certain religion you should not judge because of the fault of others. Citizens should also watch their government carefully. After reading this you should see that they do not care about protecting us the right way. They only wanted to do something so that citizens could not say they were not taking action fast enough. Citizens probably would have preferred a law that was considered carefully. Even though the Patriot Act does not directly violate human rights, it does seem that way. The government needs to find other ways to protect the U.S. from terrorists and still preserve and protect the Constitution. It seems that 8 months after the 9-11 attacks, American citizens are in many ways silently segregated by their own ignorance, the government and the Patriot Act.



Bibliography


ACLU of Illinois challenges Ethnic and Religious Bias in Strip Search of Muslim Woman at O'Hare International Airport, January 16, 2002, http://www.aclu.org/news/2002/n011602a.html , 21/5/02
An ACLU Legisative Analyis, http://www.aclu.org/congress/1110101a.html

Delgado, Ray, Arab-looking gays feel sting of Sept. 11/ Reports says attacks. slurs rose in Bay Area, April 18, 2002.http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/04/18/MN88091.DTL&type=printable .9/5/02

Hentoff, Nat, The Village Voice: Nation: Nat Hentoff: Terrorizing the Bill of Rights by Nat Hentoff. November 9, 2001. http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0146/hentoff.php 21/5/02

Holy Warrior In the Hot Seat ( 2001, December 10) Newsweek. p.45

Robinson B.A, Aftermath of the 9-11 Terrorist Attack: Attacks On Muslims, September 12, 2001. http://www.religioustolerance.org/reac_ter1.htm 21/5/02