911 Anti Terrorism Legistlation

9/11: Anti Terrorism Legislation

      After the tragic events of September 11, 2001, many countries around the world have taken measures to identify, prosecute and punish terrorists. In response to the attacks Canada, The United States and Britain have all formulated their own anti terrorism legislation to ensure the safety of their citizens. Anti terrorism laws and response teams are essential because they will eventually help to put an end to terrorism. Further research into this topic has revealed that anti terrorism policies and procedures can influence the way the world run. In the aftermath of September 11, many nations around the world were forced to deal with the threat of terrorism on their soil which brought terrorism to a whole new level. For this specific reason governments around the world reacted, with harsh anti terrorism legislations, that sometimes denied even the most basic human rights. In Canada it was the Canadian Anti Terrorism Act, in Britain it was the Prevention of Terrorism Act and in the United States it was the Patriot Act. These three anti terrorism acts, along with many other ones around the world, put into perspective the harsh realities of terrorism. The main issues with these three anti terrorism acts are firstly, they are extremely controversial and secondly they are very problematic and even unconstitutional. The acts give the government to much power, allowing them to detain those that are believed to be terrorist without any due process, the right of the government to eavesdrop using running wire taps, reduction in judicial oversight and the roll of parliament or congress. (National Intelligence Agency, 2007)

      Before anti terrorism can be fully understood terrorism must defined. Terrorism is defined as the calculated use of violence (or threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are politically or religiously or ideologically in nature; this is done through intimidation or instilling fear....