Gentlemen, I contend the pre-911 process did in fact work...right up until it bottle-necked at the mid-managment level. It stalled even further as autocratic bureaucracies (FBI aned CIA) engaged in a turf war. I also contend that elements of the the Patriot Act DO make it easier to gather intelligence and intelligence is the principle weapon. Simply look at the basic tenets and apply them to theoretical criminal pursuits and you get modest results, and even an occasional, "DAMN, look what we found!"
Italy, Spain, France and Portugal have been fighting domestic and international terrorism with degrees of success for years using some of the same methodology now made available by the Patriot Act.
The issue isn't "does this stuff work". At issue is the fine, nearly indistinguisable line between legitimate use and general abuse. You want to see an example on a more mundane scale? Research the "Terry Stop." Does it have a positive effect in combating crime. Sure! Is it easy to abuse? Damn tootin'. The Patriot Act carries significantly more risk of abuse in matters that may or may not have anything to do with Global Terrorism.
I am not happy with the deterioration of Constitutuional rights over a modest improvement in national security. Allow the Patriot Act to expire today, imprision the first fifty bureaucrats who allow inter-agency fueds to impede investigations and endanger national security. That would be a true Patriot Act.
One last matter to consider. I have the data in front of me. It's part of the day job. However, I won't share it just yet. Instead, I propose a bit of research for those interested.
First, determine the square miles of the Continential United States, and the square miles of OCONUS (including Alaska, Hawaii and all our US territories. Next, research the linear miles of US coastline and "hard borders", the number of state, regional, national and international airports. Next, research the number of international seaports, inlcuding the
world's ten largest commercial ports. Then, research the linear miles of rail, subway, and tram common carrier routes. Finally, examine the number of hard and soft targets you would exploit, were you a terrorist, within 20 miles of your home. Once you've accumulated and examined the data, please tell me how the US should approach securing the borders. Believe me, we'd like to know.
300 million people in the US, give or take a few million.
2.2 Million cops spread across the local, county, state, and federal levels.
Now consider the following:
DOJ Facts (Bureau of Jail statistics)
2,131,180 prisoners were held in Federal or State prisons or in local jails -- an increase of 2.3% from midyear 2003, less than the average annual growth of 3.5% since yearend 1995.
-- there were an estimated 486 prison inmates per 100,000 U.S. residents -- up from 411 at yearend 1995. -- the number of women under the jurisdiction of State or Federal prison authorities increased 2.9% from midyear 2003, reaching 103,310 and the number of men rose 2.0%, totaling 1,390,906.(some cop, somewhere, has been busy) Oh, wait. You're sure those are all non-violent pot smokers, victims of a tyrannical drug policy. Okay, here's a little graph for you from the Buearu Of Prisons, and DoJ.
Now, it's pretty clear that most of us, me included, are afraid to bestow additional police powers on Law Enforcement. Only a very small segment of that community will ever have opportunity to use the measures anyway, and still, the risk of abuse is just too high. In order for Law enforcement to be effective, the judical branch must "click" at the lowest levels and I can tell you, that ain't happening.
It should also be apparent that 2.2 million cops spread out and working child porn, civil service, traffic, school resources, homicide, sex cases, theft-related, parental abductions, drugs, white collar crime, illegal import/export, computer crime including identity theft, child-spouse-elderly abuse will NEVER be able to secure the miles and miles and miles of linear routes, borders, and coastlines mentioned above. They sure as hell can't protect the infrastructure. Hire more cops? Naw. Nobody really wants that. Solution? Maybe there isn't one. But there IS a starting point. Get dead-assed serious about the laws already in place, kill the plea-bargain system except for non-violent Class D offenders (drugs-use offenders, hotchecks, etc...) and have at the rest like a pack of mad dogs who've been on a South Beach Diet one day, too long.
The country jumped on a half-assed solution in response to a terrible incident. And keep in mind, at no time has there been a concensus on the full scope of the Act. Its creation is the culmination of backdoor trades, compromises, and favors. And given the timing of an all-too fresh national tragedy, the reactionary sentiments of the American people, and an inexperienced President, such a construct was almost inevitable.
Today, the threat of future terroristic acts still looms on the horizon and in our minds. However, thanks to the passage of time, and an aggressive counter-terrorism effort, ('m not talking about either PA or the Iraq war) the threat it is diminished to the point we now have window of opportunity to reexamine our goals and strategies. Contact your elected officials and demand that they stop the bullshit over who gets a Domestic Preparedness Center of Excellence sticker.
You think our elected folks have a real grip on all this? People, they're still fighting over the "revised acceptable IDLH of radiological beta, gamma and neutron sources, and the standardization of chemcial breakdown limits on mask seals inside 3rd generation Interspiro airpaks. Say that 10 times, real fast. (NIOSH and OSHA folk better start looking over both shoulders. The world as they know it is about to change)
Call your politicians. Make them articulate their thoughts, goals and plans. If they can't or won't, inform them that Burger King has an apprentice management program and an opening on the fry line. Put enough heat on the politicos and you might be surprised. Do it today. Yesterday. Just git 'er done, folks, because what we're doing now is a sloppy stop-gap, not a long term solutuion.