Due Today: Ch. 31, and Jig-saw share out of US Policy in Afghanistan
Troops in Iraq and Afghanistan
WATCH: The Iraq War
The Patriot Act
On June 8, 2004 an FBI agent asked for a list of people who had checked out a biography of Osama bin Laden at the Deming, Washington Library," Jean Airoldi, a Deming librarian, wrote in an article. After the library's attorney asked the FBI why it wanted such a list, the Bureau answered that a Deming Library patron had informed it of these words written in the bin Laden biography:
"If the things I 'm doing is considered a crime, then let history be my witness that I am a criminal. Hostility toward America is a religious duty and we hope to be rewarded by God." A Google search revealed that Osama bin Laden is quoted as saying words almost identical to these in a 1998 interview.
The library trustees refused to turn over the list and issued the following statement: "It is our job to protect the right of the people to obtain the books and other materials they need to form and express ideas. If the government can easily obtain records of the books that our patrons are borrowing, they will not feel free to request the books they want. Who would check out a biography of bin Laden knowing that this might attract the attention of the FBI?"
After the FBI obtained a subpoena to force the library to turn over the list, the trustees decided to fight the order in court to overturn it. Fifteen days later the FBI withdrew its demand.
The FBI was acting under the provisions of the USA Patriot Act (Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) passed by Congress on October 25, 2001, and signed into law by President Bush six weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This act gave the FBI power, under Section 215, secretly to obtain records from libraries as well as any business the agency regards as important for a national security investigation. - The Morningside Center
- Read UpFront Article: The 9/11 Dilemma Freedom vs. Security
- Leahy Optimistic His Bill to Limit Electronic Surveillance will Win Senate Approval
- Obama Signs NSA Bill, renewing the Patriot Act
Should Congress renew the Patriot Act?
HW: Study for test- You'll have (almost) all of next class to study!