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mre


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Assignment #1: The War on Terror
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Sources: Background: The terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 changed not only the policies of the United States and the attitude of its people; it changed the world.  The ‘war on terror’ would be declared by President George Bush hours after the attack.  It would be a war different than any other war.  The United States would find itself faced with challenges and questions.  What explains the hatred against America by Islamic fundamentalism that caused the terrorist attacks?  How would the United States protect privacy and civil liberties as well as the national security of the nation?  What kind of terrorist threats can (and do) exist in a democratic country like the United States ?  Would the United States be willing to use torture to gain intelligence or prevent an attack?  All of these questions have deep and complex answers.  This is what we will explore in this online lesson. 

Assignment: You have just been chosen as President Obama's new Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (http://www.nctc.gov/).  You have been given four intelligence briefings concerning the subjects of the websites above after you were sworn into office.  President Obama has scheduled a meeting with you in a day concerning your choice of two of the four topics.  Research them and write a policy brief for each explaining 1) what problems existed and 2) what suggested policy recommendations you would make concerning those two topics (websites) researched.

Assignment Example: (In letter form): To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama: I have researched the topics of 1) torture as a tool in the war on terror and 2) domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror.  The following problems exist with each...  I believe it should be the recommendation of the Office of National Counterterrorism that your policy regarding these matters should be...  I believe this for the following reasons... Sincerely, (your name), Director of the National Counterterrorism Center. 

Evaluation: You will be given 40 points for each policy brief meeting the requirements above (explanation of the problem in detail AND policy recommendations with reasons). [80 pts. total] You will be given 10 points for a comment, suggestion or question made towards another student and 10 points for a constructive reply to a comment made. [20 pts total] 

Question Example: You wrote a good explanation of the problems facing Islamic Fundamendalism.  Which country do you think represents the biggest challenge in this area to America today?Reply Example: I don't know exactly, but I would guess that maybe Iran would represent one of the biggest threats because of their development of possible nuclear weapons and their anti-US stance on Iraq and Palestine. 

-- Edited by mre at 10:56, 2009-01-29

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montille25


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Max Montille
  1/29/09
 Director of the NationalCounterterrorism  

Dear Mr. Barack Obama
  I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and I think it would be helpful if we torture but mentally torturing them. Because over time they will tell you the truth.The second thing that I researched is the domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror, I think it not a good idea because we are cutting the united states citizens from there freedom of privacy because we are checking there phones for intelligence on the war on terror its not a good idea at all.
                                                                                                                                                                               Sincerely,  Max Montille  Director of the N.C.C

-- Edited by montille25 at 18:28, 2009-01-30

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Moussa


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(i may have gone a bit overboard with this sorry. :D)

To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama:

I have taken the time to better understand several important issues our country must deal with the first being torture techniques sometimes called Advanced Intorregation. The debate around torture to retrieve important information surrounds both our constitution and the actual information attained by the practice. Ever since the War on Terror was first used by Former President Bush after the 9/11 attacks, torture has been used extensively to attain information for the government to try and effectively fight terrorism. Torture included water boarding (drowning simulation) and other methods on both suspected terrorists and those caught in the battlefield can help gain important information for the defense of the country against another terrorist attack.

However, as in the Lodi Cali. Case on of the suspected terrorist, the officers tortured Mr. Hayat, and as he said later "I just make [up] a story, that's all, because they would not believe me when I was telling the truth." He officers were almost dictating to him what they wanted to hear. The case brings to light the effectiveness of the torture techniques or simple brutality at collecting accurate information. The torture techniques, can never actually guarantee accurate information for our government to use and has now become a cause to the U.S.s declining stance in the world. It also brings up the case of our constitutional beliefs. The constitution bans cruel and unusual punishment because all man is created equal. I believe it should be the recommendation of the Office of National Counterterrorism that your policy regarding these matters should be one of rejection. We find that, torture doesnt provide accurate information, may even defy the constitution itself, undermines our efforts around the world, and further fuels terrorists recruiting capabilities and anti-U.S. propaganda.

The other issue my Office looked at facing our nation was spying in the United States. This controversial issues brings up the constitution once more. The constitution gurantees man the right of privacy, while domestic policies that support spying counters that right. The spying has also become a well known issue for the U.S. and around the world. It, just like torture, has hurt the United States ability to take action in the world; it also brings up many legal questions. Many thought the program was limited to Al-Queda suspected terrorists in the country however former CIA Assistant General Counsel Suzanne Spaulding stated "So many people in America think this does not affect them. They've been convinced that these programs are only targeted at suspected terrorists. I think that's wrong. Our programs are not perfect, and it is inevitable that totally innocent Americans are going to be affected by these programs,".

The spying also futher alienates the United States from the Arab and Muslim world, the most important part of the War on Terror. Muslims feel both torture and spying is only targeted at them simply because of their religion, sometimes calling U.S. foreign policy as the Christian crusade. Spying has brought no evident evidence proving suspected terrorists have done anything wrong. Therefore, the Office of National Counterterrorism recommends that your policy concerning spying and spyware be one of rejection. There are much more disadvantages to the system than advantages. With little effectiveness at fighting terrorism at home, and taking large sums of funding from Homeland Security, Spying has alienated moderate muslim countries and people (especially those in the U.S. which could help terrorists generate more home grown terrorists). It has strengthen the case for violent action against the U.S and has hurt our image as the worlds leading democracy. Your diplomatic plans world-wide would benefit greatly if you publicly rejected both torture and spying as a means to fight the enemy and following up with your words.

Sincerely Moussa Hassoun,
Director of National Counterterrorism Center



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Moussa


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montille25 wrote:

Max Montille
  1/29/09
 Director of the NationalCounterterrorism  

Dear Mr. Barack Obama
  I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and I think it would be helpful if we scared them with torture not really torturing them but mentally torturing them. 
                                                                                                                                                                          

mentally torturing them? you think Osama bin Laden is psycologically dying, thinking that there's a possibility some of his fighters are being tortured? i'm not so sure of that. 

 



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Mikaylin


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To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama:

   I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and domestic surveilance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror. There are certain problems that exist in each. Using torture as in a tool in war is not always the way to get information that we need. Torturing somebody will just make them give you any information that they want, even if it's false, just so they wont receive as much of a punishment that they would for saying nothing. I think this should be rejected, because using the turtoring system will not always bring you true information and there's not really a way to know when that person is telling the truth.
        Another topic I researched was the suveilance on American citizens. This is another topic that should be rejected for the fact that the U.S. has rights of privacy. It's wrong for people to have to worry about their privacy when this surveilance was only supposed to be used to catch terrorists.

Sincerely Mikaylin Williams,                                                                                   
Director of the National Countererrorism Center


-- Edited by Mikaylin at 02:27, 2009-01-30

-- Edited by Mikaylin at 02:28, 2009-01-30

-- Edited by Mikaylin at 17:23, 2009-01-30

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Mikaylin


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montille25 wrote:

Max Montille
  1/29/09
 Director of the NationalCounterterrorism  

Dear Mr. Barack Obama
  I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and I think it would be helpful if we scared them with torture not really torturing them but mentally torturing them. The second thing that I researched is the domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror, I think it not a good idea because we are cutting the united states citizens from there freedom of privacy because we are checking there phones for intelligence on the war on terror its not a good idea at all.
                                                                                                                                                                               Sincerely,  Max Montille  Director of the N.C.C


I disagree with the fact that you think mentally torturing them will be sucessful when it hasn't helped in the pass.

 



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shmaedae


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Moussa wrote:

(i may have gone a bit overboard with this sorry. :D)

To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama:

I have taken the time to better understand several important issues our country must deal with the first being torture techniques sometimes called Advanced Intorregation. The debate around torture to retrieve important information surrounds both our constitution and the actual information attained by the practice. Ever since the War on Terror was first used by Former President Bush after the 9/11 attacks, torture has been used extensively to attain information for the government to try and effectively fight terrorism. Torture included water boarding (drowning simulation) and other methods on both suspected terrorists and those caught in the battlefield can help gain important information for the defense of the country against another terrorist attack.

However, as in the Lodi Cali. Case on of the suspected terrorist, the officers tortured Mr. Hayat, and as he said later "I just make [up] a story, that's all, because they would not believe me when I was telling the truth." He officers were almost dictating to him what they wanted to hear. The case brings to light the effectiveness of the torture techniques or simple brutality at collecting accurate information. The torture techniques, can never actually guarantee accurate information for our government to use and has now become a cause to the U.S.s declining stance in the world. It also brings up the case of our constitutional beliefs. The constitution bans cruel and unusual punishment because all man is created equal. I believe it should be the recommendation of the Office of National Counterterrorism that your policy regarding these matters should be one of rejection. We find that, torture doesnt provide accurate information, may even defy the constitution itself, undermines our efforts around the world, and further fuels terrorists recruiting capabilities and anti-U.S. propaganda.

The other issue my Office looked at facing our nation was spying in the United States. This controversial issues brings up the constitution once more. The constitution gurantees man the right of privacy, while domestic policies that support spying counters that right. The spying has also become a well known issue for the U.S. and around the world. It, just like torture, has hurt the United States ability to take action in the world; it also brings up many legal questions. Many thought the program was limited to Al-Queda suspected terrorists in the country however former CIA Assistant General Counsel Suzanne Spaulding stated "So many people in America think this does not affect them. They've been convinced that these programs are only targeted at suspected terrorists. I think that's wrong. Our programs are not perfect, and it is inevitable that totally innocent Americans are going to be affected by these programs,".

The spying also futher alienates the United States from the Arab and Muslim world, the most important part of the War on Terror. Muslims feel both torture and spying is only targeted at them simply because of their religion, sometimes calling U.S. foreign policy as the Christian crusade. Spying has brought no evident evidence proving suspected terrorists have done anything wrong. Therefore, the Office of National Counterterrorism recommends that your policy concerning spying and spyware be one of rejection. There are much more disadvantages to the system than advantages. With little effectiveness at fighting terrorism at home, and taking large sums of funding from Homeland Security, Spying has alienated moderate muslim countries and people (especially those in the U.S. which could help terrorists generate more home grown terrorists). It has strengthen the case for violent action against the U.S and has hurt our image as the worlds leading democracy. Your diplomatic plans world-wide would benefit greatly if you publicly rejected both torture and spying as a means to fight the enemy and following up with your words.

Sincerely Moussa Hassoun,
Director of National Counterterrorism Center


DUDE ur makin me LOOK BAD lol



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shmaedae


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montille25 wrote:

Max Montille
  1/29/09
 Director of the NationalCounterterrorism  

Dear Mr. Barack Obama
  I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and I think it would be helpful if we scared them with torture not really torturing them but mentally torturing them. The second thing that I researched is the domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror, I think it not a good idea because we are cutting the united states citizens from there freedom of privacy because we are checking there phones for intelligence on the war on terror its not a good idea at all.
                                                                                                                                                                               Sincerely,  Max Montille  Director of the N.C.C


well max u have a point, but i say we juss kill them



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montille25


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Mikaylin wrote:

To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama:

   I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and domestic surveilance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror. There are certain problems that exist in each. Using torture as in a tool in war is not always the way to get information that we need. Torturing somebody will just make them give you any information that they want, even if it's false, just so they wont receive as much of a punishment that they would for saying nothing. I think this should be rejected, because using the turtoring system will not always bring you true information and there's not really a way to know when that person is telling the truth.
        Another topic I researched was the suveilance on American citizens. This is another topic that should be rejected for the fact that the U.S. has rights of privacy. It's wrong for people to have to worry about their privacy when this surveilance was only supposed to be used to catch terrorists.

Sincerely Mikaylin Williams,                                                                                   
Director of the National Countererrorism Center


-- Edited by Mikaylin at 02:27, 2009-01-30

-- Edited by Mikaylin at 02:28, 2009-01-30

-- Edited by Mikaylin at 17:23, 2009-01-30


I THINK TORTURE CAN BE A TOOL TO GET INFORMATION



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Brittney(:


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To the honorable President of the United States Barack Obama: I have researched the topics 1) using torture as a way to stop terrorism and 2) that the enemy lies within in the state.  The following problems exist with each. Highly coercive interrogation which is torture is unethical.  America is a land of freedom, if we begin to torture individuals to find information we are basically going against the rights we all believe in. Also in using torture there is not a full success rate. Terrorist are men who believe in what they were doing, they would die for there belief. If we believe that if we use coercive interrogation, the believed terrorist will release valuable information one hundred percent of the time, we are waiting valuable time, when we could be finding information which would be viable to our country. The problem that exists with an enemy lying within our nation is far more vastly dangerous.  It has been 8 years since 9/11 and there have been no counter attacks. I believe that the enemy may be conjuring up something. In London the 4th of July 2005 the railway attacks that resulted in several dozen deaths, when four individuals who were U.K. citizens, born and raised in Leeds, carried out attacks against the British subway system. There could possible be effect for us. We need to get a closer relationship with our citizens to find what is going on in our own backyard. I believe it should be the recommendation of the Office of National Counterterrorism that you policy regaining these issues should be revised. For the problem regarding torture in the jails there should be a harsh interrogation but nothing that can cause a near death or excruciating pain.  Regarding the problem with the enemy lying within   is that the police on the streets should have a closer relationship to where ever there jurisdiction is.  The federal should conduct more private investigations regarding terrorism.

 

                      Sincerely ,Brittney, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center



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jessicalol


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mre wrote:

Sources: Background: The terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 changed not only the policies of the United States and the attitude of its people; it changed the world.  The war on terror would be declared by President George Bush hours after the attack.  It would be a war different than any other war.  The United States would find itself faced with challenges and questions.  What explains the hatred against America by Islamic fundamentalism that caused the terrorist attacks?  How would the United States protect privacy and civil liberties as well as the national security of the nation?  What kind of terrorist threats can (and do) exist in a democratic country like the United States ?  Would the United States be willing to use torture to gain intelligence or prevent an attack?  All of these questions have deep and complex answers.  This is what we will explore in this online lesson. 

Assignment: You have just been chosen as President Obama's new Director of the NationalCounterterrorismCenter (http://www.nctc.gov/).  You have been given four intelligence briefings concerning the subjects of the websites above after you were sworn into office.  President Obama has scheduled a meeting with you in a day concerning your choice of two of the four topics.  Research them and write a policy brief for each explaining 1) what problems existed and 2) what suggested policy recommendations you would make concerning those two topics (websites) researched.

Assignment Example: (In letter form): To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama: I have researched the topics of 1) torture as a tool in the war on terror and 2) domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror.  The following problems exist with each...  I believe it should be the recommendation of the Office of National Counterterrorism that your policy regarding these matters should be...  I believe this for the following reasons... Sincerely, (your name), Director of the NationalCounterterrorismCenter. 

Evaluation: You will be given 40 points for each policy brief meeting the requirements above (explanation of the problem in detail AND policy recommendations with reasons). [80 pts. total] You will be given 10 points for a comment, suggestion or question made towards another student and 10 points for a constructive reply to a comment made. [20 pts total] 

Question Example: You wrote a good explanation of the problems facing Islamic Fundamendalism.  Which country do you think represents the biggest challenge in this area to America today?Reply Example: I don't know exactly, but I would guess that maybe Iran would represent one of the biggest threats because of their development of possible nuclear weapons and their anti-US stance on Iraq and Palestine.

 



-- Edited by mre at 10:56, 2009-01-29
  jessica hernandez 
      1/30/08
  director of the national counterterrorism center
  



To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama:Our country has gone under an terrorist attack that even still is taking us time to get back up from i belive that  recovery plan to stop the torture tool method because i strongly doubt it is the way to get the information we need these are clans that vow not to say anything there ruthless and ready to face anything there shud be case studies preformed on each highjacker to study there weaknesses and there highest streangths even if we arent sure if any suspicions of a possible terrorist we can preform case studies and investigations based on there families and from there on also i think its a good idea get rid of the fourth amendment and juss invade any little bit of privacy wen it comes to such a big world with so many different minds we shouldn allow any privacy we should create programs that can pick out any sort of threat to the united states and from there on ...

Another topic i researched  the suveilance on American citizens i think its a good idea and that it should be further more impossed juss in a different way because everyone is entitled to there own opinon but if thats why when suspected we should preform more case studys and if there were to be a serious threat move into a case with trial or watever  precautions neccessary.



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Brittney(:


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montille25 wrote:

Max Montille
  1/29/09
 Director of the NationalCounterterrorism  

Dear Mr. Barack Obama
  I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and I think it would be helpful if we scared them with torture not really torturing them but mentally torturing them. The second thing that I researched is the domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror, I think it not a good idea because we are cutting the united states citizens from there freedom of privacy because we are checking there phones for intelligence on the war on terror its not a good idea at all.
                                                                                                                                                                               Sincerely,  Max Montille  Director of the N.C.C


metal torture could cause great Physiological harm , even if this is done it will not gaurantee that they will provide any viable evidence. Even if they do if they suffered physiological harm how would we know the facts they provide are actually usable.





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CodyCarmo


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Assignment One: The War on Terror    

 

To the man who will change the world the President of the U.S.A. Barack Obama,

 

            I have researched two topics one was the attacks on 9/11 and the Torture question. The torture question is a very good topic is torture inhumane and should be completely prohibited or in some cases could torture help save the lives of innocent people in a catastrophic event by torturing one individual. In other cases of non-catastrophic proportion torture should not be had until urgency is shown in the situation. Torture is very effective in getting people to talk in one case in Germany as said by Oren Gross. A German man kidnapped a little boy. Three days later the man was captured after the police watched him take ransom money. The suspect toyed with his interrogators about the location of the boy and the police chief allowed his officers, in a written order, to torture. After he was threatened with pain, it took only 10 minutes for the suspect to reveal the location of the boy, who was already dead.  This is a prime example of simple and easy information out of someone in a very short amount of time because of torture.  Torture in situations like this is necessary because peoples lives are at stake.  If the police acted quicker to torture they may have found the boys where abouts before he was dead.  This is not the fault of the police but it should be taken into consideration that to prevent lives from being taken those that commit crimes should be dealt with as quick and accurately as possible.  But, in other cases torture is not fit.            Another topic I have researched is the 9/11 attacks.  These attacks could have easily been prevented.  The insufficient security of both our airports and our government allowed theses terrorists to get in they should have been identified earlier.  Our flight attendants were untrained for the situation.  It was an inevitable attack but after this we are able to see what went wrong and plan for the future.  Things like more flight attendant training, security or police officer on board each airplane, better security measures, homeland security heightened, and aliens should be removed.  Terrorist activity should be stopped and the war on terror needs a new approach.  We need to continue what Bush started but in a new way. I am not sure how to do it but I do know through terrorist interrogations that we can obtain the information needed to solve our problem.

 

                                                           

 

                                                            Sincerely,

 

Cody Carmo

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CodyCarmo


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Brittney(: wrote:

To the honorable President of the United States Barack Obama: I have researched the topics 1) using torture as a way to stop terrorism and 2) that the enemy lies within in the state.  The following problems exist with each. Highly coercive interrogation which is torture is unethical.  America is a land of freedom, if we begin to torture individuals to find information we are basically going against the rights we all believe in. Also in using torture there is not a full success rate. Terrorist are men who believe in what they were doing, they would die for there belief. If we believe that if we use coercive interrogation, the believed terrorist will release valuable information one hundred percent of the time, we are waiting valuable time, when we could be finding information which would be viable to our country. The problem that exists with an enemy lying within our nation is far more vastly dangerous.  It has been 8 years since 9/11 and there have been no counter attacks. I believe that the enemy may be conjuring up something. In London the 4th of July 2005 the railway attacks that resulted in several dozen deaths, when four individuals who were U.K. citizens, born and raised in Leeds, carried out attacks against the British subway system. There could possible be effect for us. We need to get a closer relationship with our citizens to find what is going on in our own backyard. I believe it should be the recommendation of the Office of National Counterterrorism that you policy regaining these issues should be revised. For the problem regarding torture in the jails there should be a harsh interrogation but nothing that can cause a near death or excruciating pain.  Regarding the problem with the enemy lying within   is that the police on the streets should have a closer relationship to where ever there jurisdiction is.  The federal should conduct more private investigations regarding terrorism.

                      Sincerely ,Brittney, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center



I agree completely



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d3t0x


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-- Edited by d3t0x at 17:39, 2009-01-30

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Eww. Windows vista.
CodyCarmo


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montille25 wrote:

Max Montille
  1/29/09
 Director of the NationalCounterterrorism  

Dear Mr. Barack Obama
  I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and I think it would be helpful if we scared them with torture not really torturing them but mentally torturing them. The second thing that I researched is the domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror, I think it not a good idea because we are cutting the united states citizens from there freedom of privacy because we are checking there phones for intelligence on the war on terror its not a good idea at all.
                                                                                                                                                                               Sincerely,  Max Montille  Director of the N.C.C


you might want to re read your writing your topic sentence doesn't make sense it is a run on.



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shannon43


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Dear Mr. President Barrack Obama

            Right now we are at war in Iraq and Afghanistan and I think that we should loosen up our forces and try to make sure that we keep in mind our own troops and what we have to do. Some of the problems that we have now is that we are in our allies lands and we use them for some of our trading systems. We use some of our U.S arms shipments as well. Also we have some problems with our U.S intelligences laws and policies that have stopped us from having counterterrorism operations. Also I dont think that we should have such strict interrogations into terror. It doesnt make sense to interrogate people because then they would just continue to not like us.

                                                Sincerely

                                               

                                    Shannon Medeiros

                                    Director of C. C

Shannon, can you use evidence (through your research) to support your position?  Thanks.



-- Edited by mre at 14:59, 2009-02-04

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Moussa


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montille25 wrote:

I THINK TORTURE CAN BE A TOOL TO GET INFORMATION

 


your right, torture can be a tool to get information, but there is no way to tell whether it information is ACURATE! imagine this, the CIA finds out there is an attack about to happen in the U.S., they have a suspect who could possibly know what will happen. they torture him, but because of his strong belief in their cause and the orginization he works for, he decides to tell the CIA the attack will happen in XX,XX misleading the entire government to that location, while the attack goes on. So since it can't provide accurate information, it only serves to destroy our political and diplomatic stances in the world. 

Also, your against survellience, but can't surveillance also help bring in information? why are you against surviellance but for torture if both have a slight chance of getting information. a bit contradictory. 

 



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KLeite89


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To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama:
          I have researched the following topics on whether or not torture is a profound tactic to deter the actions of terrorists and the act of domestic surveillance on American citizens.
         In my opinion I believe physical harm can become appropriate in crucial situations to a certain extent. For example, in the case pertaining to the Guantanamo detainees, more than 750 individuals had been sent to this center because of being possible suspects involved with the Al Qaeda and Taliban community. If any of these prisoners were suspected of harboring plausible evidence and were refusing to cooperate I find it suitable to proceed with force by applying physical harm, but never to the point of possible organ failure, serious physical harm, impairment of bodily functions, or even death. The last thing the government needs is a homicide case on their hands, caused by one of their own men.
        The act of domestic surveillance on American citizens should only be acted upon if the government has probable cause, and has gathered sufficient evidence to support their reasoning for intruding. A possible 'sting operation' could be organized and pursued to further their investigation in hopes of capturing their culprit and other information.
       Thank you for your time and patience.
       

                                                       Sincerely,
                                                       Kayla Leite
                                                Director of the N.C.C.

-- Edited by KLeite89 at 22:16, 2009-01-31

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KLeite89


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Max Montille
  1/29/09
 Director of the NationalCounterterrorism  

Dear Mr. Barack Obama
  I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and I think it would be helpful if we torture but mentally torturing them. Because over time they will tell you the truth.The second thing that I researched is the domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror, I think it not a good idea because we are cutting the united states citizens from there freedom of privacy because we are checking there phones for intelligence on the war on terror its not a good idea at all.
                                                                                                                                                                               Sincerely,  Max Montille  Director of the N.C.C





I think you should elaborate more on your topic to get your point across

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4shl3y


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Dear Mr. President Barrack Obama,

 

                I Director of the NationalCounterterrorismCenter have research the topics for the problems that existed. There are many different strategy attempts on how we are to pursue the attacks from terrorism from the past. The possible top four actions I have shortened down to two. The torture attempt and the other issue my Office looked at facing our nation were spying in the United States.

 

There are many issues with the torture subject. It makes The US look bad but can also bring many answers. The only problem is sometimes officers dont stop certain actions that can cause harmful things. Ever since the 9/11 attacks, torture has been used extensively to attain information for the government to try and effectively fight terrorism. Torture included drowning simulation and other methods on both suspected terrorists and those caught in the battlefield can help gain important information for the defense of the country against another terrorist attack.

 

The spying also further alienates the United States from the Arab and Muslim world, the most important part of the War on Terror. Muslims believe that these attempts on spying and torture are only placed on them because of their religion, sometimes calling U.S. foreign policy as the Christian crusade. The effects on spying bring a great sense of comfort to our people back here in the US. Spying can only help us so much, but it gives The US more information on how to make our next move.                                                                        Sincerely Ashley FerminoDirector of National Counterterrorism Center 

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4shl3y


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montille25 wrote:

Max Montille
  1/29/09
 Director of the NationalCounterterrorism  

Dear Mr. Barack Obama
  I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and I think it would be helpful if we torture but mentally torturing them. Because over time they will tell you the truth.The second thing that I researched is the domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror, I think it not a good idea because we are cutting the united states citizens from there freedom of privacy because we are checking there phones for intelligence on the war on terror its not a good idea at all.
                                                                                                                                                                               Sincerely,  Max Montille  Director of the N.C.C

-- Edited by montille25 at 18:28, 2009-01-30


All right those are two very good points. But why should we use these to tactics? Your reasoning is too short. To tell you the truth you honestly don't have a reason and if this is supposed to be a matter of national security and protection you wouldn't be a very good director. Remeber this is about the whole US and the rest of the worl not just one person. Its good to have those two as tools but you should elaberate more because i don't think the president would be happy just on a simple oppinion without any back up.

smile



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nadia33


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To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama, 
           
              I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror. I do not think that the torture tool will work because they will not reveal much to us and it will make them even madder and want to get more revenge on us. I also think we should let the people out of the Guantanamo prison because a lot of them are innocent and there is a lot of money being spent that we can use for better things to better our economy.  

          There is also a problem with the tapping in of the lines. I dont think we should use the tapping into peoples phone lines and computers. It is an invasion of privacy and they are tapping into peoples lines that are innocent. I think they should only do it to people who they suspect and before they do they should have full evidence and reason to believe that that person or group are terrorists.

                                                                      Sincerely, Nadia Mimoso
                                                              Director of the national counterterrorism center
                                                                                                                    

-- Edited by nadia33 at 20:11, 2009-02-01

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Moussa


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KLeite89 wrote:

To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama:
          I have researched the following topics on whether or not torture is a profound tactic to deter the actions of terrorists and the act of domestic surveillance on American citizens.
         In my opinion I believe physical harm can become appropriate in crucial situations to a certain extent. For example, in the case pertaining to the Guantanamo detainees, more than 750 individuals had been sent to this center because of being possible suspects involved with the Al Qaeda and Taliban community. If any of these prisoners were suspected of harboring plausible evidence and were refusing to cooperate I find it suitable to proceed with force by applying physical harm, but never to the point of possible organ failure, serious physical harm, impairment of bodily functions, or even death. The last thing the government needs is a homicide case on their hands, caused by one of their own men.
        The act of domestic surveillance on American citizens should only be acted upon if the government has probable cause, and has gathered sufficient evidence to support their reasoning for intruding. A possible 'sting operation' could be organized and pursued to further their investigation in hopes of capturing their culprit and other information.
       Thank you for your time and patience.
       

                                                       Sincerely,
                                                       Kayla Leite
                                                Director of the N.C.C.

-- Edited by KLeite89 at 22:16, 2009-01-31


do you expect to get information from a person who would die for his or her cause by slapping them around? you're saying we should torture but not do took much physical damage. It's like your saying, we should slap them around, but never punch them to get the info to use a metaphor. 

i don't think 'soft torture' will be any more effective at getting info from normal torture.

Moussa.

 



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montille25


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Moussa wrote:

KLeite89 wrote:

To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama:
          I have researched the following topics on whether or not torture is a profound tactic to deter the actions of terrorists and the act of domestic surveillance on American citizens.
         In my opinion I believe physical harm can become appropriate in crucial situations to a certain extent. For example, in the case pertaining to the Guantanamo detainees, more than 750 individuals had been sent to this center because of being possible suspects involved with the Al Qaeda and Taliban community. If any of these prisoners were suspected of harboring plausible evidence and were refusing to cooperate I find it suitable to proceed with force by applying physical harm, but never to the point of possible organ failure, serious physical harm, impairment of bodily functions, or even death. The last thing the government needs is a homicide case on their hands, caused by one of their own men.
        The act of domestic surveillance on American citizens should only be acted upon if the government has probable cause, and has gathered sufficient evidence to support their reasoning for intruding. A possible 'sting operation' could be organized and pursued to further their investigation in hopes of capturing their culprit and other information.
       Thank you for your time and patience.
       

                                                       Sincerely,
                                                       Kayla Leite
                                                Director of the N.C.C.

-- Edited by KLeite89 at 22:16, 2009-01-31


do you expect to get information from a person who would die for his or her cause by slapping them around? you're saying we should torture but not do took much physical damage. It's like your saying, we should slap them around, but never punch them to get the info to use a metaphor. 

i don't think 'soft torture' will be any more effective at getting info from normal torture.

Moussa.


I  think you have a good point put mental torture is the best way because is doesn't leave any physical harm only mental harm. But you do have a good point.




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montille25


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nadia33 wrote:

To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama, 
           
              I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror. I do not think that the torture tool will work because they will not reveal much to us and it will make them even madder and want to get more revenge on us. I also think we should let the people out of the Guantanamo prison because a lot of them are innocent and there is a lot of money being spent that we can use for better things to better our economy.  

          There is also a problem with the tapping in of the lines. I dont think we should use the tapping into peoples phone lines and computers. It is an invasion of privacy and they are tapping into peoples lines that are innocent. I think they should only do it to people who they suspect and before they do they should have full evidence and reason to believe that that person or group are terrorists.

                                                                      Sincerely, Nadia Mimoso
                                                              Director of the national counterterrorism center
                                                                                                                    

-- Edited by nadia33 at 20:11, 2009-02-01


I think the government should have a program that uses mind readers to read the minds of the prisoners it would make is easyer



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alesys


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  I have looked into the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and surveillance to be able to obtain information on the war.  I do not think that torture will work because look in what situations we are in now we are running in circles basically and if you do continue on using torture we need new tactics. Also on the topic of gauntonamo bay I think the people that have American citizen do deserve a trial and if not I believe that thats un constitutional because they still have rights. But then again thats why there in Cuba because we would not be able to harbor that in America.
          There is also a problem with the tapping in the lines. I understand why this occurred but again its peoples right I think if you are going to tap into someones phone and computer they should know about it. It is an invasion of privacy. They should make sure that that the are following or investigating is the right person.  Why are you going to listen to someones conversation for 2 months waiting for information and there innocent when there is something really bad going on and you just missed it because you dont have enough information on the people you are tapping. And thats just a waste of time and money that we cant afford. Sincerely, Alesys Mosquea Director of the national counterterrorism center

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Kristen!


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To the honorable President of the United States Barack Obama: I have researched the topics

1.) Torture as a tool in the war and 2.) surveillance on American citizens. The use of torture is a debatable question because it can be useful in a catastrophe and by hurting one person or several individuals by getting information. Like for instance in Guantanamo Bay prison they used torture to who the US government suspect are terrorist. Some of the tactics they used is water boarding, electric shock. This would come more in useful for police to use in a kidnapping situation because then they can work quickly to find were the child is being held. I don't believe that these tactics would work in other cases. Another topic that I have researched is domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror. This was a good idea to listen in on phone calls, IMs and etc. to find out who could be a potential terrorist. Also to see who knows any information on Bin Ladin or the group Al Queada itself. The downfall to this effect is that some of the CIAs took it a little to far when they started using it for different purposes. People shouldnt have to worry about going on the phone , or sending an email to a friend, and wonder if someone is tracking this or not. It has been over 8 years since 9/11 and there hasnt been any potential sign of a terrorist attack. So I believe that the US government and the CIA shouldn't be using there power of being able to surveillance innocent citizens. I think that they should take matters in a more private manner.

Sincerely ,Kristen, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center



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AlexPereira


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To President Barack Obama:

I have researched the two topics of spying on the homefront and the question on torturing. I have realized that many people in America today do not think that the situation regarding the spying on the homefront concerns them. The problem is that the National Security Agency's program is not perfect. I think that surveillance on the homes of people in America is wrong, because everyone needs their privacy. Although they are trying to search for possible terrorist information, I don't believe it is right to spy on everyone in America.

The question on torturing is a very difficult concept to come across. I personally do not believe physical harm to any human being is right. Even though they are trying to get useful information out of them, it is really wrong to torture anyone. They have tortured many people who don't truly know any information on terrorist attacks, and I believe the torturing should come to a stop.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Alexandra Pereira

Director of the N.C.C



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vanessa


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mre wrote:

Sources: Background: The terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 changed not only the policies of the United States and the attitude of its people; it changed the world.  The war on terror would be declared by President George Bush hours after the attack.  It would be a war different than any other war.  The United States would find itself faced with challenges and questions.  What explains the hatred against America by Islamic fundamentalism that caused the terrorist attacks?  How would the United States protect privacy and civil liberties as well as the national security of the nation?  What kind of terrorist threats can (and do) exist in a democratic country like the United States ?  Would the United States be willing to use torture to gain intelligence or prevent an attack?  All of these questions have deep and complex answers.  This is what we will explore in this online lesson. 

Assignment: You have just been chosen as President Obama's new Director of the NationalCounterterrorismCenter (http://www.nctc.gov/).  You have been given four intelligence briefings concerning the subjects of the websites above after you were sworn into office.  President Obama has scheduled a meeting with you in a day concerning your choice of two of the four topics.  Research them and write a policy brief for each explaining 1) what problems existed and 2) what suggested policy recommendations you would make concerning those two topics (websites) researched.

Assignment Example: (In letter form): To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama: I have researched the topics of 1) torture as a tool in the war on terror and 2) domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror.  The following problems exist with each...  I believe it should be the recommendation of the Office of National Counterterrorism that your policy regarding these matters should be...  I believe this for the following reasons... Sincerely, (your name), Director of the NationalCounterterrorismCenter. 

Evaluation: You will be given 40 points for each policy brief meeting the requirements above (explanation of the problem in detail AND policy recommendations with reasons). [80 pts. total] You will be given 10 points for a comment, suggestion or question made towards another student and 10 points for a constructive reply to a comment made. [20 pts total] 

Question Example: You wrote a good explanation of the problems facing Islamic Fundamendalism.  Which country do you think represents the biggest challenge in this area to America today?Reply Example: I don't know exactly, but I would guess that maybe Iran would represent one of the biggest threats because of their development of possible nuclear weapons and their anti-US stance on Iraq and Palestine.

 



-- Edited by mre at 10:56, 2009-01-29
 Dear President Barack Obama,

   I have researched the topics of torture in the war on terror and surveillance on U.S. citizens to gather information. There are problems that exist with each of these topics. Most people would agree that torture is appropriate after what happened on 9/11 but who even knows if this information given is accurate. The victim could easily be giving information to lead Americans into more trouble then they're already in. Also how is the interrogator to know if the person they're interrigating even knows anything at all. The victim could be completely innocent and could be getting tortured for no reason. I believe the torturing should be stopped because it doesn't seem as if it's helping us at all. 

  The next topic I researched is spying on the homefront. I personally do not think that after 8 years suveillance is neccessary. I think that people should be able to use phones and computers without worrying if their calls or emails are being tracked. I know that some people do believe that it will help to get certain information about terrorist attacks but after this long without anything happening I don't think it's needed.

Sincerely,
Vanessa Gelinas
Director of National Counterterrorism Center


 



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vanessa


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AlexPereira wrote:

To President Barack Obama:

I have researched the two topics of spying on the homefront and the question on torturing. I have realized that many people in America today do not think that the situation regarding the spying on the homefront concerns them. The problem is that the National Security Agency's program is not perfect. I think that surveillance on the homes of people in America is wrong, because everyone needs their privacy. Although they are trying to search for possible terrorist information, I don't believe it is right to spy on everyone in America.

The question on torturing is a very difficult concept to come across. I personally do not believe physical harm to any human being is right. Even though they are trying to get useful information out of them, it is really wrong to torture anyone. They have tortured many people who don't truly know any information on terrorist attacks, and I believe the torturing should come to a stop.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Alexandra Pereira

Director of the N.C.C


I agree that a lot of people being tortured could be completely innocent



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vanessa


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Moussa wrote:

KLeite89 wrote:

To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama:
          I have researched the following topics on whether or not torture is a profound tactic to deter the actions of terrorists and the act of domestic surveillance on American citizens.
         In my opinion I believe physical harm can become appropriate in crucial situations to a certain extent. For example, in the case pertaining to the Guantanamo detainees, more than 750 individuals had been sent to this center because of being possible suspects involved with the Al Qaeda and Taliban community. If any of these prisoners were suspected of harboring plausible evidence and were refusing to cooperate I find it suitable to proceed with force by applying physical harm, but never to the point of possible organ failure, serious physical harm, impairment of bodily functions, or even death. The last thing the government needs is a homicide case on their hands, caused by one of their own men.
        The act of domestic surveillance on American citizens should only be acted upon if the government has probable cause, and has gathered sufficient evidence to support their reasoning for intruding. A possible 'sting operation' could be organized and pursued to further their investigation in hopes of capturing their culprit and other information.
       Thank you for your time and patience.
       

                                                       Sincerely,
                                                       Kayla Leite
                                                Director of the N.C.C.

-- Edited by KLeite89 at 22:16, 2009-01-31


do you expect to get information from a person who would die for his or her cause by slapping them around? you're saying we should torture but not do took much physical damage. It's like your saying, we should slap them around, but never punch them to get the info to use a metaphor. 

i don't think 'soft torture' will be any more effective at getting info from normal torture.

Moussa.


I completely agree with you on the whole torture piece



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nora


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To the honorable President of the United States of America, Barrack Obama;

 

I have recently taken the time to research and examine two policies that our government has been enforcing since the World Trade Center tragedy on September 11, 2001.  As you well know, one big concern of our nations leaders following the terrorist attacks was maintaining citizen privacy while protecting them at the same time.  President Bushs Patriot Act was put in to affect in 2001, taking away many freedoms that the citizens of this nation once had.  In an effort to keep our nation safe, the National Security Agency (NSA) began using new methods to track down suspected terrorists.  These new methods include wiretapping and sifting Internet communications.  The NSA also has been recovering text messages, emails, instant messages, and phone records.  I found this startling, because this eliminates any privacy that Americans have and goes against everything that the 4th Amendment stands for.  For this reason, I feel that this practice should be revised so that only definite terrorist suspects are targeted, not every citizen who makes a phone call or writes an email to someone over seas.

 

The next controversial policy is the use of Advanced Interrogation to retrieve information concerning suspected terrorists.  Advance Interrogation includes the use of torture techniques.   The use of these sometimes demoralizing techniques has become common at our detention facilities around the world.  As you well know, the most infamous location is the prison at Guantanamo Bay, which you recently closed.  Sexual harassment, the use of dogs for interrogation, disrespect of religious icons, and water boarding are just of few of the immoral acts taking place.  This practice is ineffective because the prisoner will end up saying what the guard wants him to say, whether he is truly guilty or not.  For this reason I feel that these practices should be banned altogether.  Not only are they ineffective, but also they are also morally wrong.  Our Founding Fathers established this country holding morals with high regard, and I  feel that we should always maintain this high respect.

 

Sincerely,

Noreen Costa
Director of the N.C.C.


-- Edited by nora at 05:09, 2009-02-02

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nickf13


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Dear President Obama,
      I have researched the following two topics: "Spying on the Homefront" and "The Torture Question".  I have found that i disagree with some of the ideas about these topics, and I would like to give you some suggestions.  Spying on American citizens is going against the Constitution.  I realize that the goal here is to protect our homeland, but I think that we need to find a middle ground, where the people don't feel very violated.  We could do this by only spying on those people inside our country that we believe to be dangerous and/or suspected terrorists, that way we won't waste our time eavesdropping on innocent peoples conversations.
     I also think that torture isn't a smart way of dealing with suspected terrorists.  Most of these men are trained not to break under pressure no matter what.  If they are willing to take their own lives in a suicide bombing, I think they would be willing to take the pain for what they believe in.  Also, there is no way of knowing whether or not they are speaking the truth.  I don't think that these things should be completely abolished, I just dont think we should over-use these ideas.
    
      Sincerely,
      Nick Fuller
      Director of the National Counterterrorism Center
    
     


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Tyler Allain


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Sorry that this is A day late, but i had it for you on paper today and you weren't in.

___________________________________________________________-
To the honoroable President of our United States, Mr Barack Obama:


I have been researching deeply into the topics of our preparedness to to counter terrorist attacks in the U.S and our use or public surveillance to stay on top of potential terrorist activities in the United States. Mr Obama, I feel that it is extremely important to continue to support the NSA and other agencies in their use of public surveillance in order to stay on top of terrorist activities in the U.S. People may feel that this is an invasion of their civil rights to privacy, but they need to understand that the terrorists we need to fear most are right here in the U.S and we need to use surveillance to keep them safe. What we are doing to be prepared to counter terrorist attacks and plots is good, but we need to spend more time evaluating and looking over all of the information we collect in order to target the most serious terrorist plots and be prepared to nuetralize them. If the public had a greater understanding of how and why we use public surveillance, then maybe they would be more understanding. I feel you need to address this/these issues, and make an informative announcment to the public about it. Please take these issues into consideration.


Director of Counterterroism, Tyler Allain

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Tyler Allain


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Kristen! wrote:

To the honorable President of the United States Barack Obama: I have researched the topics

1.) Torture as a tool in the war and 2.) surveillance on American citizens. The use of torture is a debatable question because it can be useful in a catastrophe and by hurting one person or several individuals by getting information. Like for instance in Guantanamo Bay prison they used torture to who the US government suspect are terrorist. Some of the tactics they used is water boarding, electric shock. This would come more in useful for police to use in a kidnapping situation because then they can work quickly to find were the child is being held. I don't believe that these tactics would work in other cases. Another topic that I have researched is domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror. This was a good idea to listen in on phone calls, IMs and etc. to find out who could be a potential terrorist. Also to see who knows any information on Bin Ladin or the group Al Queada itself. The downfall to this effect is that some of the CIAs took it a little to far when they started using it for different purposes. People shouldnt have to worry about going on the phone , or sending an email to a friend, and wonder if someone is tracking this or not. It has been over 8 years since 9/11 and there hasnt been any potential sign of a terrorist attack. So I believe that the US government and the CIA shouldn't be using there power of being able to surveillance innocent citizens. I think that they should take matters in a more private manner.

Sincerely ,Kristen, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center


There are some gramatical errors in here. Not Bad though.



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Tyler Allain


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Moussa wrote:

KLeite89 wrote:

To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama:
          I have researched the following topics on whether or not torture is a profound tactic to deter the actions of terrorists and the act of domestic surveillance on American citizens.
         In my opinion I believe physical harm can become appropriate in crucial situations to a certain extent. For example, in the case pertaining to the Guantanamo detainees, more than 750 individuals had been sent to this center because of being possible suspects involved with the Al Qaeda and Taliban community. If any of these prisoners were suspected of harboring plausible evidence and were refusing to cooperate I find it suitable to proceed with force by applying physical harm, but never to the point of possible organ failure, serious physical harm, impairment of bodily functions, or even death. The last thing the government needs is a homicide case on their hands, caused by one of their own men.
        The act of domestic surveillance on American citizens should only be acted upon if the government has probable cause, and has gathered sufficient evidence to support their reasoning for intruding. A possible 'sting operation' could be organized and pursued to further their investigation in hopes of capturing their culprit and other information.
       Thank you for your time and patience.
       

                                                       Sincerely,
                                                       Kayla Leite
                                                Director of the N.C.C.

-- Edited by KLeite89 at 22:16, 2009-01-31


do you expect to get information from a person who would die for his or her cause by slapping them around? you're saying we should torture but not do took much physical damage. It's like your saying, we should slap them around, but never punch them to get the info to use a metaphor. 

i don't think 'soft torture' will be any more effective at getting info from normal torture.

Moussa.


I think your metaphor was a little to confusing to get your point across strongly, but i agree that torturing someone for information is not always a good tactic becuase someone being tortured who knows nothing may give false info to avoid further torture...ect.



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nora


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vanessa wrote:

 

mre wrote:

Sources: Background: The terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 changed not only the policies of the United States and the attitude of its people; it changed the world.  The war on terror would be declared by President George Bush hours after the attack.  It would be a war different than any other war.  The United States would find itself faced with challenges and questions.  What explains the hatred against America by Islamic fundamentalism that caused the terrorist attacks?  How would the United States protect privacy and civil liberties as well as the national security of the nation?  What kind of terrorist threats can (and do) exist in a democratic country like the United States ?  Would the United States be willing to use torture to gain intelligence or prevent an attack?  All of these questions have deep and complex answers.  This is what we will explore in this online lesson. 

Assignment: You have just been chosen as President Obama's new Director of the NationalCounterterrorismCenter (http://www.nctc.gov/).  You have been given four intelligence briefings concerning the subjects of the websites above after you were sworn into office.  President Obama has scheduled a meeting with you in a day concerning your choice of two of the four topics.  Research them and write a policy brief for each explaining 1) what problems existed and 2) what suggested policy recommendations you would make concerning those two topics (websites) researched.

Assignment Example: (In letter form): To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama: I have researched the topics of 1) torture as a tool in the war on terror and 2) domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror.  The following problems exist with each...  I believe it should be the recommendation of the Office of National Counterterrorism that your policy regarding these matters should be...  I believe this for the following reasons... Sincerely, (your name), Director of the NationalCounterterrorismCenter. 

Evaluation: You will be given 40 points for each policy brief meeting the requirements above (explanation of the problem in detail AND policy recommendations with reasons). [80 pts. total] You will be given 10 points for a comment, suggestion or question made towards another student and 10 points for a constructive reply to a comment made. [20 pts total] 

Question Example: You wrote a good explanation of the problems facing Islamic Fundamendalism.  Which country do you think represents the biggest challenge in this area to America today?Reply Example: I don't know exactly, but I would guess that maybe Iran would represent one of the biggest threats because of their development of possible nuclear weapons and their anti-US stance on Iraq and Palestine.

 



-- Edited by mre at 10:56, 2009-01-29
 Dear President Barack Obama,

   I have researched the topics of torture in the war on terror and surveillance on U.S. citizens to gather information. There are problems that exist with each of these topics. Most people would agree that torture is appropriate after what happened on 9/11 but who even knows if this information given is accurate. The victim could easily be giving information to lead Americans into more trouble then they're already in. Also how is the interrogator to know if the person they're interrigating even knows anything at all. The victim could be completely innocent and could be getting tortured for no reason. I believe the torturing should be stopped because it doesn't seem as if it's helping us at all. 

  The next topic I researched is spying on the homefront. I personally do not think that after 8 years suveillance is neccessary. I think that people should be able to use phones and computers without worrying if their calls or emails are being tracked. I know that some people do believe that it will help to get certain information about terrorist attacks but after this long without anything happening I don't think it's needed.

Sincerely,
Vanessa Gelinas
Director of National Counterterrorism Center


 

 



 I agree with your ideas about torturing prisoners.  I'm sure that lots of prisoners gave false information so they would stop being tortured.  I also agree that wiretapping and sifting Internet communications is unnecessary eight years later.



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nora


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CodyCarmo wrote:

Assignment One: The War on Terror    

 

To the man who will change the world the President of the U.S.A. Barack Obama,

 

            I have researched two topics one was the attacks on 9/11 and the Torture question. The torture question is a very good topic is torture inhumane and should be completely prohibited or in some cases could torture help save the lives of innocent people in a catastrophic event by torturing one individual. In other cases of non-catastrophic proportion torture should not be had until urgency is shown in the situation. Torture is very effective in getting people to talk in one case in Germany as said by Oren Gross. A German man kidnapped a little boy. Three days later the man was captured after the police watched him take ransom money. The suspect toyed with his interrogators about the location of the boy and the police chief allowed his officers, in a written order, to torture. After he was threatened with pain, it took only 10 minutes for the suspect to reveal the location of the boy, who was already dead.  This is a prime example of simple and easy information out of someone in a very short amount of time because of torture.  Torture in situations like this is necessary because peoples lives are at stake.  If the police acted quicker to torture they may have found the boys where abouts before he was dead.  This is not the fault of the police but it should be taken into consideration that to prevent lives from being taken those that commit crimes should be dealt with as quick and accurately as possible.  But, in other cases torture is not fit.            Another topic I have researched is the 9/11 attacks.  These attacks could have easily been prevented.  The insufficient security of both our airports and our government allowed theses terrorists to get in they should have been identified earlier.  Our flight attendants were untrained for the situation.  It was an inevitable attack but after this we are able to see what went wrong and plan for the future.  Things like more flight attendant training, security or police officer on board each airplane, better security measures, homeland security heightened, and aliens should be removed.  Terrorist activity should be stopped and the war on terror needs a new approach.  We need to continue what Bush started but in a new way. I am not sure how to do it but I do know through terrorist interrogations that we can obtain the information needed to solve our problem.

 

                                                           

 

                                                            Sincerely,

 

Cody Carmo

 



I agree that our country was extremely unprepared for any kind of terrorist attack, never mind one of this proportion.  



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TAYLORgarron


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To the honorable Mr. President Barack Obama:
I have thoroughly researched and analyzed the information concerning:
A. Surveillance used domestically to search for home-grown terrorists
B. Torture used as a form of gaining information on potential terrorist threats

I find certain conflicts with each:
A. More of our efforts need to be put into accurately defining and pursuing potential domestic terrorists. In the Lodi, California Case for instance, a series of alarming, and in some cases overblown, accusations and inquiries were made. During the whirl of vulnerability and hostility following 9/11, an FBI informant made a claim that a deputy of Osama bin Laden had come to Lodi, Calif. in the late 90s and had attended a mosque while there. This particular mosque is said to have been led by two imams (Muslim religious leaders) who were thought to be linked to the Taliban. Several suspects of home-grown terrorism from this area were taken into custody, based simply on suspicion. This caught the attention of both the U.S. government, and the media.
However, when a New York Times reporter, Lowell Bergman, conducted an interview with a defendant, named Umer Hayat, it was soon unearthed that the FBIs investigation of this case was not thorough, and these accusations become clouded with uncertainty. At one point, Hayat stated "I just make [up] a story, that's all [] because they would not believe me when I was telling the truth." At the trial of Hayat, the FBI showed a videotape in which he confesses to attending a terrorist training camp. But, after voluntarily going to the FBIs Sacramento bureau, (where Hayat was interrogated for 15 hours without a lawyer present), Hayats stories were discovered to be inaccurate, and the FBI did not conduct a follow-up investigation in Pakistan.
In order to resolve this issue, I recommend the following:
Re-evaluate the investigative methods used by the FBI; retrain as necessary. This could decrease the likelihood of spending precious time and money investigating someone who is of no threat.
Require extensive validity checks on all photos, video, or audio intended to be used as evidence in a case such as this. This could decrease the likelihood of a falsified depiction of an individual in a court case.
Require extensive background checks on all suspected potential terrorists (include all names and aliases). This could, when utilized in addition to my first recommendation, further decrease the likelihood of spending time and money investigating someone who is of no threat, as well as determine risk factors to pinpoint other potential terrorists (if said suspect does in fact turn out to be a person of high interest)
B. A swift and extreme change needs to be made when it comes to the use of torture as a tool to obtain information on potential terroristic threats. As recently reported, youve already taken steps to close down Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba. First, may I commend you on this decision, and step in a positive direction. However, the overuse of "cruel, inhuman or degrading" torture techniques is still very present in the United States. I, for one, feel that these acts are counterproductive. For instance, to a terrorist who wholeheartedly believes that what hes doing is righteous in the eyes of God, defilement of a copy of the Quran would make him immensely less conducive to reveal accurate information, if he reveals any at all.
In order to resolve this issue, I recommend the following:
As suggested to resolve the issue of home-grown terrorism, I recommend we re-evaluate the investigative methods used to determine whether or not captured persons are a serious threat. This could decrease the likelihood of spending precious time and money investigating someone who is of no threat.

Thank you for your time, Mr. Obama, and I sincerely hope that you take some of my advice into consideration whilst you navigate your new presidency.

Sincerely,
Taylor Garron
Director of the N.C.T.C.


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TAYLORgarron


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nickf13 wrote:

Dear President Obama,
      I have researched the following two topics: "Spying on the Homefront" and "The Torture Question".  I have found that i disagree with some of the ideas about these topics, and I would like to give you some suggestions.  Spying on American citizens is going against the Constitution.  I realize that the goal here is to protect our homeland, but I think that we need to find a middle ground, where the people don't feel very violated.  We could do this by only spying on those people inside our country that we believe to be dangerous and/or suspected terrorists, that way we won't waste our time eavesdropping on innocent peoples conversations.
     I also think that torture isn't a smart way of dealing with suspected terrorists.  Most of these men are trained not to break under pressure no matter what.  If they are willing to take their own lives in a suicide bombing, I think they would be willing to take the pain for what they believe in.  Also, there is no way of knowing whether or not they are speaking the truth.  I don't think that these things should be completely abolished, I just dont think we should over-use these ideas.
    
      Sincerely,
      Nick Fuller
      Director of the National Counterterrorism Center
    
     


I agree with you on the fact that these ideas are over-used. They seem to work out as planned only hypothetically. But, if you believe that torture should be used only in extreme cases, what methods would you suggest to determine which cases qualify as 'extreme'?

 



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TAYLORgarron


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I'm not sure if you were serious about that reply Max, but that seems to be the least plausible way to get informatin out of someone. If torture doesn't always prosper, something with even less validity most definitely would not. Are thereany other methods you can think of that would be more constructive?

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TO: President Barack Obama

I have researches the topics of 1) Pre-emption and Prevention and 2) The Treat of Homegrown Terrorism. Both of these topics should be adressed to ensure the safety of our nation.

It is well known that many terrorist are citizens of the coutries that they attack. They also communicate with terrorists from outside sources. Since there may be terrorists living in our country, it is important to step up our security and to remain alert to the possible threats that face our nation. I suggest that we invest in wire-tapping suspected facilities to try to gather information on a further attack. We must also monitor phone lines and all forms of electronic communication. By doing this, we may be able to prevent terrorists from setting up another attack. The second issue we must deal with is the threat of homegrown terrorism in our country. This goes hand in hand with the above issue. We must prevent terrorists from recruiting our civilians and making our nation more corrupt. We need to capture the terrorists already living in our country to make sure they don't build up a large group of terrorists which will potentially bring down our great nation.

Sincerely,
Madelyn Pounds, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center

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Moussa


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i noticed that many people here, seem to be against torture (as am I) however, i think we can say that only because we are in the civilian position.

if you were president, and troops had caught a terrorist who had information about another possible attack, and the CIA had been getting intelligence of an iminent attack, and you knew that this person was and upper level terrorist. you wouldn't torture him for info to save possible millions?

(run on sentence)

i'm not sure any of us, would be so strong in their opposition to torture if put in this position. Look at it from the presidents point of view who's job is to protect the country.

Moussa

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nadia33


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montille25 wrote:

nadia33 wrote:

To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama, 
           
              I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror. I do not think that the torture tool will work because they will not reveal much to us and it will make them even madder and want to get more revenge on us. I also think we should let the people out of the Guantanamo prison because a lot of them are innocent and there is a lot of money being spent that we can use for better things to better our economy.  

          There is also a problem with the tapping in of the lines. I dont think we should use the tapping into peoples phone lines and computers. It is an invasion of privacy and they are tapping into peoples lines that are innocent. I think they should only do it to people who they suspect and before they do they should have full evidence and reason to believe that that person or group are terrorists.

                                                                      Sincerely, Nadia Mimoso
                                                              Director of the national counterterrorism center
                                                                                                                    

-- Edited by nadia33 at 20:11, 2009-02-01


I think the government should have a program that uses mind readers to read the minds of the prisoners it would make is easyer


yes maybe it would make things easier but most likely it wouldnt work



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nadia33


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nora wrote:

vanessa wrote:


mre wrote:

Sources: Background: The terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001 changed not only the policies of the United States and the attitude of its people; it changed the world.  The war on terror would be declared by President George Bush hours after the attack.  It would be a war different than any other war.  The United States would find itself faced with challenges and questions.  What explains the hatred against America by Islamic fundamentalism that caused the terrorist attacks?  How would the United States protect privacy and civil liberties as well as the national security of the nation?  What kind of terrorist threats can (and do) exist in a democratic country like the United States ?  Would the United States be willing to use torture to gain intelligence or prevent an attack?  All of these questions have deep and complex answers.  This is what we will explore in this online lesson. 

Assignment: You have just been chosen as President Obama's new Director of the NationalCounterterrorismCenter (http://www.nctc.gov/).  You have been given four intelligence briefings concerning the subjects of the websites above after you were sworn into office.  President Obama has scheduled a meeting with you in a day concerning your choice of two of the four topics.  Research them and write a policy brief for each explaining 1) what problems existed and 2) what suggested policy recommendations you would make concerning those two topics (websites) researched.

Assignment Example: (In letter form): To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama: I have researched the topics of 1) torture as a tool in the war on terror and 2) domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror.  The following problems exist with each...  I believe it should be the recommendation of the Office of National Counterterrorism that your policy regarding these matters should be...  I believe this for the following reasons... Sincerely, (your name), Director of the NationalCounterterrorismCenter. 

Evaluation: You will be given 40 points for each policy brief meeting the requirements above (explanation of the problem in detail AND policy recommendations with reasons). [80 pts. total] You will be given 10 points for a comment, suggestion or question made towards another student and 10 points for a constructive reply to a comment made. [20 pts total] 

Question Example: You wrote a good explanation of the problems facing Islamic Fundamendalism.  Which country do you think represents the biggest challenge in this area to America today?Reply Example: I don't know exactly, but I would guess that maybe Iran would represent one of the biggest threats because of their development of possible nuclear weapons and their anti-US stance on Iraq and Palestine.



-- Edited by mre at 10:56, 2009-01-29
 Dear President Barack Obama,

   I have researched the topics of torture in the war on terror and surveillance on U.S. citizens to gather information. There are problems that exist with each of these topics. Most people would agree that torture is appropriate after what happened on 9/11 but who even knows if this information given is accurate. The victim could easily be giving information to lead Americans into more trouble then they're already in. Also how is the interrogator to know if the person they're interrigating even knows anything at all. The victim could be completely innocent and could be getting tortured for no reason. I believe the torturing should be stopped because it doesn't seem as if it's helping us at all. 

  The next topic I researched is spying on the homefront. I personally do not think that after 8 years suveillance is neccessary. I think that people should be able to use phones and computers without worrying if their calls or emails are being tracked. I know that some people do believe that it will help to get certain information about terrorist attacks but after this long without anything happening I don't think it's needed.

Sincerely,
Vanessa Gelinas
Director of National Counterterrorism Center


 




 I agree with your ideas about torturing prisoners.  I'm sure that lots of prisoners gave false information so they would stop being tortured.  I also agree that wiretapping and sifting Internet communications is unnecessary eight years later.


Yes i also agree people are always lieing just to save themselves. I also think the tapping of the internet and telephone is unnecessary

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mre


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Mikaylin wrote:

To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama:

   I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and domestic surveilance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror. There are certain problems that exist in each. Using torture as in a tool in war is not always the way to get information that we need. Torturing somebody will just make them give you any information that they want, even if it's false, just so they wont receive as much of a punishment that they would for saying nothing. I think this should be rejected, because using the turtoring system will not always bring you true information and there's not really a way to know when that person is telling the truth.
        Another topic I researched was the suveilance on American citizens. This is another topic that should be rejected for the fact that the U.S. has rights of privacy. It's wrong for people to have to worry about their privacy when this surveilance was only supposed to be used to catch terrorists.

Sincerely Mikaylin Williams,                                                                                   
Director of the National Countererrorism Center


-- Edited by Mikaylin at 02:27, 2009-01-30

-- Edited by Mikaylin at 02:28, 2009-01-30

-- Edited by Mikaylin at 17:23, 2009-01-30


Mikaylin, you want to demonstrate research in the sites provided, not just answer with an opinion, ok?  Throw in a couple of facts to support your position and it will be awesome.  Thanks.



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mre


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montille25 wrote:

Max Montille
  1/29/09
 Director of the NationalCounterterrorism  

Dear Mr. Barack Obama
  I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and I think it would be helpful if we torture but mentally torturing them. Because over time they will tell you the truth.The second thing that I researched is the domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror, I think it not a good idea because we are cutting the united states citizens from there freedom of privacy because we are checking there phones for intelligence on the war on terror its not a good idea at all.
                                                                                                                                                                               Sincerely,  Max Montille  Director of the N.C.C

-- Edited by montille25 at 18:28, 2009-01-30


Max, do the same thing, ok?  Add evidence from your research to support your positions.  Thanks.



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mre


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shmaedae wrote:

montille25 wrote:

Max Montille
  1/29/09
 Director of the NationalCounterterrorism  

Dear Mr. Barack Obama
  I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and I think it would be helpful if we scared them with torture not really torturing them but mentally torturing them. The second thing that I researched is the domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror, I think it not a good idea because we are cutting the united states citizens from there freedom of privacy because we are checking there phones for intelligence on the war on terror its not a good idea at all.
                                                                                                                                                                               Sincerely,  Max Montille  Director of the N.C.C


well max u have a point, but i say we juss kill them


Do you think that will reduce the problem or make it worse?



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mre


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jessicalol wrote:


To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama:Our country has gone under an terrorist attack that even still is taking us time to get back up from i belive that  recovery plan to stop the torture tool method because i strongly doubt it is the way to get the information we need these are clans that vow not to say anything there ruthless and ready to face anything there shud be case studies preformed on each highjacker to study there weaknesses and there highest streangths even if we arent sure if any suspicions of a possible terrorist we can preform case studies and investigations based on there families and from there on also i think its a good idea get rid of the fourth amendment and juss invade any little bit of privacy wen it comes to such a big world with so many different minds we shouldn allow any privacy we should create programs that can pick out any sort of threat to the united states and from there on ...

Another topic i researched  the suveilance on American citizens i think its a good idea and that it should be further more impossed juss in a different way because everyone is entitled to there own opinon but if thats why when suspected we should preform more case studys and if there were to be a serious threat move into a case with trial or watever  precautions neccessary.


Jessica, add some evidence to support your position from your research.  Also, you need to clean up some of the capitalization and grammar.  Thanks.




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mre


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CodyCarmo wrote:

Brittney(: wrote:

To the honorable President of the United States Barack Obama: I have researched the topics 1) using torture as a way to stop terrorism and 2) that the enemy lies within in the state.  The following problems exist with each. Highly coercive interrogation which is torture is unethical.  America is a land of freedom, if we begin to torture individuals to find information we are basically going against the rights we all believe in. Also in using torture there is not a full success rate. Terrorist are men who believe in what they were doing, they would die for there belief. If we believe that if we use coercive interrogation, the believed terrorist will release valuable information one hundred percent of the time, we are waiting valuable time, when we could be finding information which would be viable to our country. The problem that exists with an enemy lying within our nation is far more vastly dangerous.  It has been 8 years since 9/11 and there have been no counter attacks. I believe that the enemy may be conjuring up something. In London the 4th of July 2005 the railway attacks that resulted in several dozen deaths, when four individuals who were U.K. citizens, born and raised in Leeds, carried out attacks against the British subway system. There could possible be effect for us. We need to get a closer relationship with our citizens to find what is going on in our own backyard. I believe it should be the recommendation of the Office of National Counterterrorism that you policy regaining these issues should be revised. For the problem regarding torture in the jails there should be a harsh interrogation but nothing that can cause a near death or excruciating pain.  Regarding the problem with the enemy lying within   is that the police on the streets should have a closer relationship to where ever there jurisdiction is.  The federal should conduct more private investigations regarding terrorism.

                      Sincerely ,Brittney, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center



I agree completely


Cody, just to let you know... Its fine to agree, but to get credit, you have to be a lot more specific and demonstrate effort, ok?  Thanks.



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mre


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4shl3y wrote:

Dear Mr. President Barrack Obama,

                I Director of the NationalCounterterrorismCenter have research the topics for the problems that existed. There are many different strategy attempts on how we are to pursue the attacks from terrorism from the past. The possible top four actions I have shortened down to two. The torture attempt and the other issue my Office looked at facing our nation were spying in the United States.

There are many issues with the torture subject. It makes The US look bad but can also bring many answers. The only problem is sometimes officers dont stop certain actions that can cause harmful things. Ever since the 9/11 attacks, torture has been used extensively to attain information for the government to try and effectively fight terrorism. Torture included drowning simulation and other methods on both suspected terrorists and those caught in the battlefield can help gain important information for the defense of the country against another terrorist attack.

The spying also further alienates the United States from the Arab and Muslim world, the most important part of the War on Terror. Muslims believe that these attempts on spying and torture are only placed on them because of their religion, sometimes calling U.S. foreign policy as the Christian crusade. The effects on spying bring a great sense of comfort to our people back here in the US. Spying can only help us so much, but it gives The US more information on how to make our next move.                                                                        Sincerely Ashley FerminoDirector of National Counterterrorism Center 
Ashley, can you give an example of good information gained by torture?



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mre


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nadia33 wrote:

To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama, 
           
              I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror. I do not think that the torture tool will work because they will not reveal much to us and it will make them even madder and want to get more revenge on us. I also think we should let the people out of the Guantanamo prison because a lot of them are innocent and there is a lot of money being spent that we can use for better things to better our economy.  

          There is also a problem with the tapping in of the lines. I dont think we should use the tapping into peoples phone lines and computers. It is an invasion of privacy and they are tapping into peoples lines that are innocent. I think they should only do it to people who they suspect and before they do they should have full evidence and reason to believe that that person or group are terrorists.

                                                                      Sincerely, Nadia Mimoso
                                                              Director of the national counterterrorism center
                                                                                                                    

-- Edited by nadia33 at 20:11, 2009-02-01


Nadia, can you also add information and research to support your position?  Thanks.



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mre


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montille25 wrote:

nadia33 wrote:

To the honorable President of the United States, Barack Obama, 
           
              I have researched the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror. I do not think that the torture tool will work because they will not reveal much to us and it will make them even madder and want to get more revenge on us. I also think we should let the people out of the Guantanamo prison because a lot of them are innocent and there is a lot of money being spent that we can use for better things to better our economy.  

          There is also a problem with the tapping in of the lines. I dont think we should use the tapping into peoples phone lines and computers. It is an invasion of privacy and they are tapping into peoples lines that are innocent. I think they should only do it to people who they suspect and before they do they should have full evidence and reason to believe that that person or group are terrorists.

                                                                      Sincerely, Nadia Mimoso
                                                              Director of the national counterterrorism center
                                                                                                                    

-- Edited by nadia33 at 20:11, 2009-02-01


I think the government should have a program that uses mind readers to read the minds of the prisoners it would make is easyer


Reality, Max... reality.



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mre


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alesys wrote:

  I have looked into the topics of torture as a tool in the war on terror and surveillance to be able to obtain information on the war.  I do not think that torture will work because look in what situations we are in now we are running in circles basically and if you do continue on using torture we need new tactics. Also on the topic of gauntonamo bay I think the people that have American citizen do deserve a trial and if not I believe that thats un constitutional because they still have rights. But then again thats why there in Cuba because we would not be able to harbor that in America.
          There is also a problem with the tapping in the lines. I understand why this occurred but again its peoples right I think if you are going to tap into someones phone and computer they should know about it. It is an invasion of privacy. They should make sure that that the are following or investigating is the right person.  Why are you going to listen to someones conversation for 2 months waiting for information and there innocent when there is something really bad going on and you just missed it because you dont have enough information on the people you are tapping. And thats just a waste of time and money that we cant afford. Sincerely, Alesys Mosquea Director of the national counterterrorism center


As with the others, please use the sites for research to gain information that will support your position.  Thanks!  I like the fact that many of you have such strong opinions.



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mre


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Kristen! wrote:

To the honorable President of the United States Barack Obama: I have researched the topics

1.) Torture as a tool in the war and 2.) surveillance on American citizens. The use of torture is a debatable question because it can be useful in a catastrophe and by hurting one person or several individuals by getting information. Like for instance in Guantanamo Bay prison they used torture to who the US government suspect are terrorist. Some of the tactics they used is water boarding, electric shock. This would come more in useful for police to use in a kidnapping situation because then they can work quickly to find were the child is being held. I don't believe that these tactics would work in other cases. Another topic that I have researched is domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror. This was a good idea to listen in on phone calls, IMs and etc. to find out who could be a potential terrorist. Also to see who knows any information on Bin Ladin or the group Al Queada itself. The downfall to this effect is that some of the CIAs took it a little to far when they started using it for different purposes. People shouldnt have to worry about going on the phone , or sending an email to a friend, and wonder if someone is tracking this or not. It has been over 8 years since 9/11 and there hasnt been any potential sign of a terrorist attack. So I believe that the US government and the CIA shouldn't be using there power of being able to surveillance innocent citizens. I think that they should take matters in a more private manner.

Sincerely ,Kristen, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center


What evidence do you have to support these positions?



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mre


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AlexPereira wrote:

To President Barack Obama:

I have researched the two topics of spying on the homefront and the question on torturing. I have realized that many people in America today do not think that the situation regarding the spying on the homefront concerns them. The problem is that the National Security Agency's program is not perfect. I think that surveillance on the homes of people in America is wrong, because everyone needs their privacy. Although they are trying to search for possible terrorist information, I don't believe it is right to spy on everyone in America.

The question on torturing is a very difficult concept to come across. I personally do not believe physical harm to any human being is right. Even though they are trying to get useful information out of them, it is really wrong to torture anyone. They have tortured many people who don't truly know any information on terrorist attacks, and I believe the torturing should come to a stop.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Alexandra Pereira

Director of the N.C.C


Same as the others :)  What evidence do you have to support this?



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mre


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vanessa wrote:

 Dear President Barack Obama,

   I have researched the topics of torture in the war on terror and surveillance on U.S. citizens to gather information. There are problems that exist with each of these topics. Most people would agree that torture is appropriate after what happened on 9/11 but who even knows if this information given is accurate. The victim could easily be giving information to lead Americans into more trouble then they're already in. Also how is the interrogator to know if the person they're interrigating even knows anything at all. The victim could be completely innocent and could be getting tortured for no reason. I believe the torturing should be stopped because it doesn't seem as if it's helping us at all. 

  The next topic I researched is spying on the homefront. I personally do not think that after 8 years suveillance is neccessary. I think that people should be able to use phones and computers without worrying if their calls or emails are being tracked. I know that some people do believe that it will help to get certain information about terrorist attacks but after this long without anything happening I don't think it's needed.

Sincerely,
Vanessa Gelinas
Director of National Counterterrorism Center


 


Vanessa, do you have evidence to support your positions?



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mre


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nickf13 wrote:

Dear President Obama,
      I have researched the following two topics: "Spying on the Homefront" and "The Torture Question".  I have found that i disagree with some of the ideas about these topics, and I would like to give you some suggestions.  Spying on American citizens is going against the Constitution.  I realize that the goal here is to protect our homeland, but I think that we need to find a middle ground, where the people don't feel very violated.  We could do this by only spying on those people inside our country that we believe to be dangerous and/or suspected terrorists, that way we won't waste our time eavesdropping on innocent peoples conversations.
     I also think that torture isn't a smart way of dealing with suspected terrorists.  Most of these men are trained not to break under pressure no matter what.  If they are willing to take their own lives in a suicide bombing, I think they would be willing to take the pain for what they believe in.  Also, there is no way of knowing whether or not they are speaking the truth.  I don't think that these things should be completely abolished, I just dont think we should over-use these ideas.
    
      Sincerely,
      Nick Fuller
      Director of the National Counterterrorism Center
    
     


Demonstrate your research and evidence please.



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mre


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Tyler Allain wrote:

Sorry that this is A day late, but i had it for you on paper today and you weren't in.

___________________________________________________________-
To the honoroable President of our United States, Mr Barack Obama:


I have been researching deeply into the topics of our preparedness to to counter terrorist attacks in the U.S and our use or public surveillance to stay on top of potential terrorist activities in the United States. Mr Obama, I feel that it is extremely important to continue to support the NSA and other agencies in their use of public surveillance in order to stay on top of terrorist activities in the U.S. People may feel that this is an invasion of their civil rights to privacy, but they need to understand that the terrorists we need to fear most are right here in the U.S and we need to use surveillance to keep them safe. What we are doing to be prepared to counter terrorist attacks and plots is good, but we need to spend more time evaluating and looking over all of the information we collect in order to target the most serious terrorist plots and be prepared to nuetralize them. If the public had a greater understanding of how and why we use public surveillance, then maybe they would be more understanding. I feel you need to address this/these issues, and make an informative announcment to the public about it. Please take these issues into consideration.


Director of Counterterroism, Tyler Allain


Evidence, evidence, evidence, please. :)



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mre


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Tyler Allain wrote:

Kristen! wrote:

To the honorable President of the United States Barack Obama: I have researched the topics

1.) Torture as a tool in the war and 2.) surveillance on American citizens. The use of torture is a debatable question because it can be useful in a catastrophe and by hurting one person or several individuals by getting information. Like for instance in Guantanamo Bay prison they used torture to who the US government suspect are terrorist. Some of the tactics they used is water boarding, electric shock. This would come more in useful for police to use in a kidnapping situation because then they can work quickly to find were the child is being held. I don't believe that these tactics would work in other cases. Another topic that I have researched is domestic surveillance on American citizens to gather intelligence in the war on terror. This was a good idea to listen in on phone calls, IMs and etc. to find out who could be a potential terrorist. Also to see who knows any information on Bin Ladin or the group Al Queada itself. The downfall to this effect is that some of the CIAs took it a little to far when they started using it for different purposes. People shouldnt have to worry about going on the phone , or sending an email to a friend, and wonder if someone is tracking this or not. It has been over 8 years since 9/11 and there hasnt been any potential sign of a terrorist attack. So I believe that the US government and the CIA shouldn't be using there power of being able to surveillance innocent citizens. I think that they should take matters in a more private manner.

Sincerely ,Kristen, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center


There are some gramatical errors in here. Not Bad though.


Sorry, but that doesn't count as a comment.  Talk about some of the content in the post itself.  Ask questions.  Add more information. 



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mre


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madelynpounds wrote:

TO: President Barack Obama

I have researches the topics of 1) Pre-emption and Prevention and 2) The Treat of Homegrown Terrorism. Both of these topics should be adressed to ensure the safety of our nation.

It is well known that many terrorist are citizens of the coutries that they attack. They also communicate with terrorists from outside sources. Since there may be terrorists living in our country, it is important to step up our security and to remain alert to the possible threats that face our nation. I suggest that we invest in wire-tapping suspected facilities to try to gather information on a further attack. We must also monitor phone lines and all forms of electronic communication. By doing this, we may be able to prevent terrorists from setting up another attack. The second issue we must deal with is the threat of homegrown terrorism in our country. This goes hand in hand with the above issue. We must prevent terrorists from recruiting our civilians and making our nation more corrupt. We need to capture the terrorists already living in our country to make sure they don't build up a large group of terrorists which will potentially bring down our great nation.

Sincerely,
Madelyn Pounds, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center


Do you refer to arresting people without evidence?  Also, please use evidence in your post to support your position.  Show the research, in other words.



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mre


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Grades Updated 2/4/09

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Dokolski


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Dear mr. president

            After further amounts of research i have noticed that what some reporters refer to as "spying on the homefront" has proven itself to be very effective. As americans the citizens should have nothing to hide. Many aruge that it is cutting into the amendment of freedom, this program is to help keep americans safe. Many problems have occured where a massive terrorist attack could have been prevented if communications where to be intercepted. My suggestion to you would be to keep this in affect, and ignore people who say this is ineffective. Just because we dont have a constant flow of information coming in, picking up on only one serious stream of information would be better than no information, and would greatly prevent any future attacks on the U.S. Thank you for your time in this meeting. I hope what i have presented to you is helpfull information.

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Dokolski


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Dear Mr. President,
 
                The dicussion of torturing is a very severe, and yet sensitive subject, but yet i believe it is something that needs to be discussed thoroughly. I believe that this method of extracting information is useful. Many people say that torturing them is not any better then what they have done to us. But in a war such as this, we are fighting against people whol do not care about their own lives, so in my view we should capitilize on the information that they retain. The idea of torture is very barbaric, yes i agree but by holding the life of one person on the balance by the means of the information they tell us, could save thousands of people. It is as if you are in a chess game, you bring a pawn the the end of the board (a person to the brink) but in return you get a queen to use as leverage (information that you did not have before that could lead to more effective and efficient tactics). So yes I am completely for torturing, not to an extent to perform mass tortures, but to gain information from a person who is high among the chain in a terrorist group.

-- Edited by Dokolski at 04:50, 2009-03-05

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mre


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Updated.

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