Civil Liberties in the Aftermath of 9/11 - 1173 Words

September 11, 2001 was a milestone in the history of the United States, which experienced a collective shock and trauma that has never been forgotten. Not since the McCarthy era in the 1950s have there been such restrictions on civil liberties, including the protections of free speech and against unreasonable search and seizure in the First and Fourth Amendments. The entire airline and tourist industry was driven to the edge of bankruptcy and would not have survived at all without a major bailout by the federal government. After that time, the airlines decided that they could never permit another attack like this or they would be driven out of business. As it was, their stock prices collapsed and passenger schedules did not return to pre-September 11th levels for four years. All previous security plans were judged to be useless and inadequate, and were taken out of the hands of private security contractors and turned over to the federal government. New and more restrictive laws like the Patriot Act came into being, and the U.S. launched an all-out war on Al Qaeda that has continued for eleven long years, often using methods like torture that violated domestic and international law. Given the magnitude of the disaster and the collective trauma the country experienced, along with the fears of Al Qaeda obtaining weapons of mass destruction made these new restrictions inevitable, and nothing about them was surprising except that were not even more severe and repressive than theyShow MoreRelatedThe United States, Arab, Muslim, And Middle East1503 Words   |  7 Pagespart of the non-white â€Å"Other† even before 9/11. Media representations of Arab, Muslim, and Middle Eastern communities outside the borders of the United States served to construct the â€Å"terrorist† identity, which resulted in the collective racialization of Arab, Muslim, and Middle Easterners as terrorists. Through the conflation of the racialization of the Arab, Muslim, and Midd le-Eastern identity with the notions of terrorism and risk, the aftermath of 9/11 led to an emergence of racially motivatedRead MoreUse Of Securitisation Theory And Documentary Analysis1023 Words   |  5 Pagesterrorism in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 (9/11) terrorism took precedence over the civil liberties of privacy and freedom. This paper focuses on how the George W. Bush Administration, hereby referred to as the Bush Administration, successfully justified the infringement of civil liberties post-9/11 although it will also include the revelations of Snowden in 2013 and how this impacted on public opinion. Bush used religious discourse following 9/11 to manipulate publicRead More9/11...a Turning Point1408 Words   |  6 Pages9/11†¦A Turning Point There have been many turning points in American history; however none have had the same effects as September 11, 2001, and many people relate the day to the country’s loss of innocence. As a result of 9/11 many civil liberties were taken away, security was heightened, and there have been numerous effects on Americans. Although the attack happened on American soil, it can really be characterized as an attack on civilization itself, because people from more than 80 nationalitiesRead MoreThe War On Terrorism And Terrorism1614 Words   |  7 Pagesthe same as prior to September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Suspicions and distrust of â€Å"other†, fear of the unknown, and unease about the role and status of the United States of America permeates the air. Islamophobic attacks increase by 1,700% in 2001. Prior to 9/11, the FBI recorded just 28 hate crimes against Muslims. The following year it increased to 481. For visible Muslims, the threat of violence and abuse is even h igher (especially for women). Another fact 9/11 or 7/7 were often labeled asRead More The Patriot Act Essay1684 Words   |  7 Pages2001 our country underwent a change that has drastically affected the fundamental values that our founding fathers instilled in this country. Since that tragic day in September the aftermath of the attacks has started to implicate our Civil Liberties that in this country we hold so dear. Just 45 days after the September 11 attacks, with virtually no debate, Congress passed the USA Patriot Act on October 5th, 2001. This act expanded the surveillance powers of domestic law enforcement and internationalRead MoreAnalysis Of David Rapoport s Theory Of The Waves Of Terrorism1744 Words   |  7 PagesWhat is the significance of 9/11? This essay will argue that the events of 9/11 and the Bush led war on terror that followed, are extremely significant as they have created a new pattern for the understanding of world politics. Within this new pattern, the twenty-first century has experienced a divide between western powers and their allies, and some Middle-Eastern states. The events of 9/11 directly threatened the U.S. supremacy, marking the first significant terrorist attack on U.S. soil. As wellRead MoreAmerican Literature : An American Literary Time Period987 Words   |  4 PagesAmerican literature 1865-1914 is an American literary time period that began in 1865 and ended in 1914. This time period was flourished by three distinct features and the first of these features is: The Aftermath of the Civil War. It is estimated that a total of 620,000 Americans were killed in the Civil War, and for what? 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On September 11, 2001 a terrorist organization known as Al-Qaeda put in motion the largest ever terrorist attack against the United States of America. Al-Qaeda, a splinter Islamic group led by Saudi Osama Bin Laden, planned to hijack several civilian airplanes and crash them into multiple buildings on American soil. On the morning of September 11, 2001 Flight 11, which was one of the hijacked planes slammed into the north World Trade CenterRead MorePatriotic Or Power Hungry?923 Words   |  4 Pagesstandpoint. It analyzed the Soviet Union’s military power, economic growth, and political stability directly against that of the United States. The document perceived the Soviet Union as a growing threat to the United States and all of its allies. The aftermath of World War II left most nations scared of the potential power the Soviet Union could grow to be. For several centuries, it had proved impossible for any one nation to gain such preponderant strength that a coalition of other nations could not