The date 11th September 2001 marks the first major act of terrorism on the US soil. The event cost the lives of many and the massive destruction of property. The sitting president at the time was George W. Bush Jr. He boldly declared that terrorists would be pursued and punished all over the world. He backed up this declaration with a barrage of action that overhauled the past state of affairs. This included intrusive electronic surveillance that violated privacy rights and investigative methods that went against the laid down standards. The 911 terrorist Act caused the expansion and subsequent contraction of the Executive.
The constitution was amended to allow for the Patriot Act. This gave express permission to any law enforcement agency and officer to arrest each and every suspect of terrorism. This event marks one of the occurrences that altered the nature of the executive office of the president (Förster, 2018). This allowed the president Bush to extend the abilities of the presidency in a bid to protect the Constitution and defend the American people. The expansion gave the executive and its legislative arms more power than before.
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The Patriot Act as well as other changes executed then, allowed the characteristics of the Executive to be significantly expanded (Förster, 2018). The executive’s power expanded the role of over 15 federal statutes that already existed. Aspects affected included increasing the penalties for terrorists, legalizing wire taps, expanding the reach of subpoenas and search warrants. The effect that was felt the most was making the standards allowing probable cause much lower (Förster, 2018). This gave law enforcement officers the right to arrest on the slightest of suspicion.
The executive was also given greater power to act without accountability. An officer could use the probability clause to arrest people on a personal vendetta. Secret searches denied the accused the right of transparency and fairness (Förster, 2018). Additionally, the Executive became adaptable to suit the circumstances. Currently, the executive’s nature supports the theory that the end justifies the means. This includes the sharing of information across various agencies with the intention of persecution of criminal entities and prevention of crime and related terror activity.
The capabilities of the executive were expanded by the 911 event because it allowed more grey areas. The executive created ambiguity in its operations that allowed for the law enforcement officers to act outside the law (Setty, 2017). This includes the use of government funds to act as terrorists undercover in order to infiltrate terror cells. Other ambiguous aspects allow the executive to use any means necessary to get information from terror suspects. They include torture, manipulation, blackmail and coercion of other means.
The executive may also have lost its regulatory role. For example, the executive no longer has the ability to authorize secret surveillance of people who are not US citizens ( Alshrari, 2019). The executive cannot also control or regulate the number of human rights violation carried out even on innocent US citizens. All this is permitted in the name of the war against terrorism. The entire action has also made the judiciary more biased and leaning towards this specific executive order. This is one of the ways in which the executive was contracted.
The 911 terrorist acts caused both contractions and expansions of the executive. The executive was expanded as it delegates some of its authority to the law enforcement agencies. They could now act with the authority that had been given to them by the Patriot Act and other applicable amendments. The events also subsequently contracted the executive by giving the law enforcement agencies the right to act without supervision or express permission. The executive therefore lost its ability to regulate its organs.
References
Alshrari, A. (2019). Patriot Act, Section 206: It’s Impact on Muslim Populations in the US (With Special Reference to Roving Wiretap Policy). Public Policy and Administration, 7(1), 15-21.
Förster, A. (2018). The expansion of executive force in the War on Terror and its impact on domestic and international norms. Zeitschrift für Politikwissenschaft, 28(4), 535-552.
Setty, S. (2017). The President's Private Dictionary: How Secret Definitions Undermine Domestic and Transnational Efforts at Executive Branch Accountability. Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies, 24(2), 513-546.
