Title: The Patriot Act: Does it actually work? - Los Angeles Times
Headings: The Patriot Act: Does it actually work?
The Patriot Act: Does it actually work?
Point: Jena Baker McNeill
Counterpoint: Julian Sanchez
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Content: These plots weren’t foiled thanks to happenstance or sheer luck. While the U.S. does have world-class law enforcement capabilities, investigators can only perform as well as the tools at their disposal allow. One such tool is the Patriot Act. The Patriot Act has helped law enforcement officials apprehend hundreds of suspects, and it isn’t just one provision of the act that has proved useful. For instance, the surveillance provision was used successfully in the Portland Seven investigation, which may well have prevented an attack on synagogues and Jewish schools. And while new information is still coming to light about the three recent alleged plots, it is very likely that Patriot Act provisions played major roles stopping at least one of the plans. Perhaps to the shock of some, the Obama administration has been cool to the idea of repealing the Patriot Act. It may even support keeping key provisions intact. The likely cause of this support: The law works.