Does the Patriot Act ensure security or liberty of Americans? Introduction On 26 th October 2001 the U.S. Congress passed the Patriot Act and was signed by President George W. Bush to make it a law. This was catalysed by the terrorism that took place on 11th September. This Act is written in three hundred and two pages of the American constitution. The U.S. Patriot Act is also stated as ‘Uniting and Strengthening America Act by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001’(Anderson, 2003). The act describes terrorism both in domestic and international levels. Terrorism is defined as a politically stimulated violent behaviour committed against non warfare targets by sub state groups. Terrorism has the following characteristics; it is motivated by politics, this makes it different from hooliganism, it is aimed at terrorizing the public or a part if it and has a random target to frighten everyone (Anderson, 2003). What is terrorism? When a person violates the laws of the United States by doing an act that threatens the life of a human being then it is defined as terrorism according to the U.S Patriot Act. These violations include acts such as those intended to intimidate the citizens’, to intimidate and influence a government policy, mass destruction and assassination with the aim of affecting the government way of conduct (Michael, 2003). If all the above acts happen within the national boundaries then it is a domestic terrorism but if it is outside it is an international terrorism. Examples of acts that could be regarded as domestic terrorism include campaigns organised by activists and organizations such as the Greenpeace, Vieques Island and Operation Rescue. The Vieques Island protest was termed as a domestic terrorism because people tried to intimidate and influence a government policy. The protesters attempted to disrupt bombing exercises in a military base (Michael, 2003). This was against the law because it endangered the life of civilian. The surveillance laws of the nation were revised giving domestic agencies involved in law enforcement increased ability to spy on the citizens. The agencies were allowed to search communications done through telephones and e-mails. It also has the ability to search the medical and financial records of the citizens. This Act eliminated the checks and balances on judiciary that ensured the rights of many Americans were not abused (Michael, 2003). Enacting the Patriot Act The Act was enacted in response to the attacks by Islamic terrorists. On this day of attack, four planes belonging to U.S were hijacked. The Twin Towers of the New York’s World Trade Center was destroyed by the crushing of two planes. The Pentagon in Washington was targeted using one of the four planes and another plane crashed in Pennsylvania field (Linden, 2002). On this day, war on terrorism was declared by the president, George Walker Bush. Senators from the two political sides were forced to accept the Act without discussion or amendments. The judiciary committee presented the compromise bill but it was ignored (Anderson, 2003). The senate preferred a bill that was according to their version. The Act was passed giving the law enforcement more power to prevent terrorism in the country. Policies on defence, health care, e