Terrorist attacks on American soil

Since 9/11, there have been no terrorist attacks on American soil of the magnitude that brought down the twin towers of the World Trade Center, although there have been many other murderous tragedies to confront. In 2009, a Muslim Army psychiatrist, likely mentally unstable, gunned down 13 soldiers at Ft. Hood in Texas. A Muslim convert claiming he was trying to sto war by the United States against Islam shot two soldiers at a military recruit station in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Consider as well the Boston Marathon bomb in 2013 and the mass shootings in San Bernardino, in 2015, and in Orlando, 2016. Those who credit federal government efforts with preventing more such atrocities on American soil point to a variety of things. Think about the in-chapter discussion of the government’s use of the USA PATRIOT Act. Now construct a brief argument for or against this proposition:

The expanded surveillance powers given to the government under the USA PATRIOT Act hav prevented terrorist attacks on American soil without undermining the civil liberties of American citizens. How would you defend your position to a fellow student? What would be your main line of argument? What evidence do you believe best supports your position?