Obama extends Patriot Act

In the summer of Wiener pictures, Palin emails and presidential campaign announcements, the most important political news has been overshadowed.

On May 27, President Obama signed a four-year extension to the Patriot Act, the highly debated anti-terrorism law that was enacted almost immediately after 9/11.

The original act, passed on Oct. 26, 2001, gave law enforcement agencies greater power to search communication, business and medical records of suspected terrorists in an effort to prevent future attacks.

It doesn't sound too bad, but the law doesn't define concretely what a person must do to become a suspected terrorist. Anyone could be under the government's watch for something they didn't even realize they did and never know it.

Certain provisions of the act, such as roving wiretaps, access to business records and the ability to monitor individuals not linked to terrorist organizations (like, ahem, you or me), were given a 10-year period before they were to be voted on again, although the act is permanent.

The extension of the act, which was buoyed by the death of Osama bin Laden, allows the government to use those tools for another four years.

It's hard to argue against the extension. We haven't been attacked since 9/11 and have taken out high-profile terrorists, including bin Laden, with the help of the added intelligence.

Still, as the world becomes a smaller place with advances in electronic communication, a new question is raised: When does it end?

When does it become "safe" to limit the Patriot Act? Under what circumstances do politicians decide to vote down an extension?

Terrorism isn't something that can be beat. Terrorists have nothing to lose, and it's only getting easier for small groups or individuals to threaten our nation.

It's hard to fault the Patriot Act right now. Its measure of success is the safety of our country, and how are we to know how safe we really are?

We don't know the plans of terrorists or any threats against us. All we know is that we haven't been attacked, making it impossible for the public to judge the success of the Patriot Act.

Without a concrete public opinion on what the Patriot Act is doing, politicians will be free to keep it active in its entirety as long as there is the threat of terrorism.

Terrorism isn't going away, and chances are neither is the Patriot Act. For now, it is a great defense against terrorism, but in the future, its value to the government in the War on Terror. That being said, the price of our safety may very well be outweighed by the government's ability to spy so freely on its citizens. Said Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, "I want to deliver a warning this afternoon: When the American people find out how their government has secretly interpreted the Patriot Act, they will be stunned and they will be angry."

Mike Meiler can be reached by email at meiler.record@live.com.