Rise Of Terrorism In The Twentieth Century

The rise of terrorism is becoming a huge problem during the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century. People from U.S. attorney general’s, directors of the FBI and CIA, to local police officers all struggle to fight against the war on terrorism. However many believe that the country is not actually at war and that civil liberties groups go too far in trying to restrict individual rights. This eventually could lead to another problem and cause a war within the people of the United States. People state that the war on terror is the same as to other wars when rights have been restricted, which is not entirely false. The war on terror could cause certain rights to be restricted as a way of protecting oneself from …show more content…
After the September 11 attacks, the government gained more power to conduct searches against ordinary people. However, these searches like at security checkpoints in airports are reasonable. This gives the government a broader power to intercept any type of communication to obtain valuable information. The government is allowed to call on a special court called a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court for things such as wiretapping alleged criminals in an attempt to obtain the information needed to arrest the criminals. In the Sneak and Peek Search case, a woman by the name of Maria Ramirez who had originally come from a country where terroristic activities occurred had been seen speaking to people that are suspected of terrorism. The federal officials then search her apartment while she is not there and make copies of documents. The federal agents did not obtain a search warrant before searching Maria’s home, however, their reasoning as to why they searched the apartment without it would be the fact that the officials saw Maria talking to people who have been suspected of terrorism. Maria can argue back by stating she was not aware of their terroristic activities between the people she was speaking to. Another could be that officials are, by law, supposed to have a warrant stating their search and reason for their search. I agree that suspected terrorism is a very serious case in which I would …show more content…
court. In the court, he or she will be guaranteed the full rights provided for other criminal defendants such as: right to a jury, right to a lawyer, and right to a public trial. With this also comes controversy stating criminal defendants charged with terrorist activities should not be tired in a regular criminal court, but instead be tried in something far more strict. Reason behind that statement is that it is nearly impossible to guarantee a defendant in a terrorist case because public opinion is too strong and will outway the outcome making the trial unfair. Another reason is that a public court case could potentially leak information about what the government has about the terrorists, to the terrorists. One solution to this problem would be to trial the suspects in a military tribunal. A military tribunal can meet in secret and can allow hearsay as evidence. Three or more judges accompany the trial and can convict defendants and call a death penalty if two-thirds of the judges agree that the defendant is