As a New Yorker, one relates to several failed terror attacks and the role of the police in helping to investigate and prevent possible terror activities that would have severe consequences for the population in New York and around New York. At times, the public may only be aware of the attempted terrorist attacks once they read about them in an article publication. The investigation and prevention of terror attacks have been made possible by the tools provided to the police and other investigative agencies as provided by the Patriot Act. The act aims to support government agencies in counter-terrorism within and outside US borders. The patriotic acts allow the police and other investigative agencies to use different tools to investigate and prevent terrorist activities in the US. The police have applied most of the tools provided by the act for decades on other criminal activities but have not been allowed for terror activities. The provision of the act thus gave the police more powers to investigate and prevent terror activities in the US, which has had a positive impact because many terror activities have been contained in New York and other regions within the US. Preventing terrorism helps save lives and property for Americans. The provisions of the Patriot Act have helped avert attempted attacks in NYC.
Patriot Act
The priority of the US government through the patriotic act is to prevent future attacks. The patriotic act was debated and passed after the September 9th, 2001 terror attack in the US. The act passed by Congress improves the counter-terrorism activities of law enforcement agencies in many ways. It allows the police to detect, investigate, and prevent terror attacks before they happen.
The act allows the police to use different tools to investigate terror activities and act accordingly and within the law. The tools provided for by the patriotic act were already there but were allowed for organized crime within the US. The patriotic act permitted police to use the tools on matters of terrorism (Doyle, 2002). Under the act, law enforcement agencies can use surveillance to investigate possible terror plans. Surveillance tools such as wiretaps were allowed for other forms of crime but were limited under the law when it came to terror until the passage of the patriotic act. Federal agents are allowed under the act to follow sophisticated terrorists who were able to evade detection after seeking court permission. The police are allowed to investigate terror activities without tipping the terrorists and desire to have business records of possible terror actors when deemed as a threat to National security.
The Patriot Act allows information sharing and cooperation between government security agencies in the US. Initially, the law enforcement, intelligence, and national defense agencies were limited in their cooperation, but the patriotic act strengthened cooperation and information sharing for the benefit and protection of the American people (Doyle, 2002). The cooperation allows the security agencies to connect the dots without organizational barriers easily.
The act allows the police to use new technology and update the same to reflect current challenges in a digital era where terrorists use technology to plan terror attacks. The law makes the security agencies more modern in their approach to contemporary terror acts. It is now possible for the police to use high-tech means to investigate and arrest the terrorists. The act provides for more penalties for terrorists. People who commit or support terror activities face high penalties under the law (Doyle, 2002). The aim is to prevent the harboring and financing of terrorism by different actors. The patriotic act has made it possible for the US security agencies to prevent and thwart many terror activities since the 2001 September attack. The authorities have more powers and enhanced ability to investigate and prosecute terror suspects.
NYC Subway Plot
In September 2009, the New York City subway system had been targeted for a major terrorist attack. Najibullah Zazi, Zarein Ahmedzay, and Bosnian Adis Medunjanin were the three individuals who planned to stage the terror attack during a rush hour shortly after the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack. The trio, radicalized through online terror teachings, had even planned to visit Afghanistan and fight alongside the Taliban forces against the Americans. However, the Pakistan authorities had prevented them from entering Afghanistan through Pakistan. The action by Pakistan authorities led to them looking for another approach, and the three canvassed mosques in Peshawar, Pakistan, until they were put in contact with al-Qaeda representatives who facilitated their training on terrorist acts. They were then encouraged to move back home to America, where they would carry out terror attacks. Zazi received extra training on explosives, and then they all returned to the US separately (Carafano & Zuckerman, 2011). After his return, Zazi began to experiment on explosives and successfully built bomb detonation charges, which were to be used in the subway attack. He had remained in contact with Ahmedzay and Medunjanin while in Colorado, and in September 2009, he moved to New York from where he was staying in Aurora in readiness for the attack. The FBI received an intelligence tip on the planned terror attack on the subway and acted swiftly in collaboration with the NYPD through the Joint Terrorism Task Force. The three terrorists were guilty of the terror activities in New York. The contribution of the patriotic act in the thwarted attack is evident in the highlighted case study. The Joint action between the NYPD and the FBI played a crucial role in averting many deaths similar to 9/11 (Carafano & Zuckerman, 2011).
How the Patriot Act helped Law Enforcement Agencies prevent the NYC Subway Attack
The patriotic act allowed the government security agencies to collaborate in investigation. The plot was thwarted through an intelligence tip received by the FBI and with the cooperation of the NYPD through the Joint Terrorism Task Force (Lehr, 2018). The patriotic act helped in preventing a possible terror attack through the promotion of collaboration between government agencies in intelligence and information gathering. Initially it was a big challenge for the different agencies to work together but after the act, the agencies work together seamlessly which allows the security agencies to gather as much information as possible before making arrests (Strom et al., 2016).
The NYC subway attack had taken time to plan, train and visit regions outside America after their radicalization. The aim was to be skilled enough to carry an attack within America as a show of solidarity to the Muslim community. The information gathering by the security agencies was through the use of different tools made available through the patriotic act (Strom et al., 2016). The patriotic act makes it possible to gather evidence through wiretapping and secret records for purposes of making arrests and prosecution. Close monitoring of the three terror suspects Najibullah Zazi , Zarein Ahmedzay and Bosnian Adis Medunjanin who were well trained and skilled enough requires the use of various tools by the security agencies. The choice of the tools is at the discretion of the security agencies so as to operate effectively nd efficiently. The police were able to use new technology to track the three terror suspects movements and use the information to make arrests (Lehr, 2018).
The three terror suspects Najibullah Zazi, Zarein Ahmedzay and Bosnian Adis Medunjanin were finally taken to court. The court process is aided by the patriotic act, which states how the evidence should be gathered and secured by the security agencies for use as evidence in court. The court process is after since the patriotic act makes everything from investigation to collaboration easy and faster thus saving time during prosecution (Strom et al., 2016). The prevention of the NYC Subway Plot is an indication of how successful patriotic act has been in supporting the security agencies prevent terrorism in the USA. The act allows information sharing and funding of security agencies to preempt terror activities (Lehr, 2018).
Personal Opinion
I agree with giving law enforcement agencies such broad powers to keep citizens safe. People still continue to enjoy the freedom and liberties as enshrined in the constitution, even with the passage of the patriotic act. I agree with the formation of the patriotic act.
Terrorism still remains a major security threat to the American people. The people cannot enjoy their basic freedom and liberties with the imminent threat of terror attacks within the country and outside the country. Peace is an important ingredient to help people enjoy freedom and liberty. Without peace, people cannot be free and thus the patriotism act guaranteed the American people the peace of mind with empowered and actively engaged security force (Lehr, 2018). People get to enjoy their peace and freedom knowing that the security agencies are working day and night to ensure that terror threats are thwarted before they happen causing death and devastation to the American people. The enemy is ruthless and the security forces need to be well organized and funded to deal with the enemy and the patriotism act helps empower the police by proving them with the tools they need to fight the ruthless terrorists in and outside America (Strom et al., 2016).
The law enforcement agencies deserve such broad powers to effectively deal with the modern-day terrorism. Initially the law enforcement agencies and the intelligence agencies were limited in their investigation and prevention of terror activities because of the wall that existed between the enforcement and the investigative agencies with limited technology. The patriotic act gives the law enforcement agencies and the intelligence agencies that ability to collaborate and engage in joint initiatives to investigate and prevent terror attacks in the US with modern tools that align with modern technology (Lehr, 2018). Modern day terrorists use modern technology and it is critical that the security agencies have an equal capacity to deal with the security threats to guarantee the American people peace and happiness. Looking at the NYC Subway Plot, the police were able to use the tools provided by the patriotism act to prevent deaths, injuries and destruction of property in New York.
The law enforcement and intelligence agencies mandate are to prevent terror attacks before they happen and it is critical that they work with a supportive framework as provided by the Patriot Act. Terror attacks were never an issue of discussion in US until the 9/11 attack (Strom et al., 2016). The terror attack that killed many and permanently affected the livelihoods of many Americans changed how people viewed terror threats. It is better to have the security agencies more empowered and have the tools to investigate possible terror threats rather than enjoy freedom with fear of the unknown (Strom et al., 2016). The security agencies have been able to coordinate and prevent possible terror attacks that have been planned by well trained and sophisticated terrorists The act allows the agencies to be more advanced and ahead in terror investigation for the security and happiness of all Americans.
Those opposed to the Patriot Act and the law enforcement agencies having such broad powers argue that it risks infringement on the rights of Americans to freedom, privacy and liberty. There is a split between having strong government agencies and civil liberties (Wadsworth, 2020). Those opposed to the law enforcement agencies enjoying more power and use of more tools under the Patriot Act argue that the security agencies got more powers than it was necessary, which provides them with the power to limit privacy and civil liberties at will (Wadsworth, 2020). The use of wiretaps and collection and storage of U.S. citizens’ phone and internet metadata is cited by those opposed to the Patriot Act and police extensive powers in the fight against terror (Doyle, 2002).
The opinion of those opposed to the excessive powers and tools given to law enforcement agencies under the Patriot Act are valid, but they miss on the imminent threat of technologically based sophisticated terrorism. Memories of the 9/11 attack indicate the necessity of taking all the steps to prevent terror attacks before thy happen and Patriot Act effectively empowers the police to guarantee peace and security to American people.
Conclusion
The government through the security agencies enjoys better capabilities on counterterrorism with the Patriot Act. It is vital that terror activities like the NYC subway plot are thwarted before thy happen to save lives and property. The police and intelligence agencies coordinate well under the law to help investigate and prevent terror attacks while bringing those found culpable of such plans to justice.
References
Carafano, J. J., & Zuckerman, J. (2011). 40 Terror Plots Foiled Since 9/11: Combating Complacency in the Long War on Terror. Heritage Foundation.
Doyle, C. (2002, April). The USA PATRIOT Act: a sketch. Congressional Research Service, the Library of Congress.
Lehr, P. (2018). Counter-terrorism technologies: a critical assessment. Springer.
Strom, K. J., Hollywood, J. S., & Pope, M. W. (2016). Terrorist plots the United States: What we have really faced, and how we might best defend against it. The handbook of the criminology of terrorism, 468-481.
Wadsworth, M. R. (2020). The Patriot Act: How it Hurts Democracy.
write