Ledesma 1

Christian Ledesma
Mr. Hackney
English 101: Rhetoric
19 September 2014
Statement of Scope for Annotated Bibliography
Ever since the September 11th terrorist attack, the United States has increased their
surveillance on their citizens for any sign of affiliation with terrorism. This has raised the
question on whether the government has been spying on its citizens illegally or not. Even though
many U.S. citizens are against government agencies spying on them, I say these activities are a
necessity to protect the citizens until terrorism is less of a problem.
This essay will explore the ways why the NSA and other organizations have the rights to
do so. There are a few acts that have been passed by congress to address what is considered legal
or what is not. I will go in detail in explaining the USA Patriot Act and FISA and how the
government needs to do to track an individual. Also, I will include examples on what some
government agencies have done which has been illegal. Finally, I will discus how keeping an eye
on U.S citizens will help keep terrorist attacks low.
The selected bibliography includes sources that addresses the USA Patriot Act, FISA, the
NSA, and examples of ways to track someone. In Fishers and Bulzomis articles, it talks about
the USA Patriot Act. The anonymous source is about how surveillance has gone up since 9/11.
The Xihua News Agency article discusses information about the NSA spying on citizens. The
last source mentions FISA and what it does. Overall, these sources provides information on what
is legal and what is not legal.

Annotated Bibliography

Ledesma 2
Anonymous. is it legal? government surveillance. Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom
1(2006):33. eLibrary. Web. 16 Sep. 2014. The authors insightful article shows why the
government spies on individuals. First of all, since the 9/11 terrorist attack, surveillance
on individuals rose. Then, they mention that information gained from improper searches
are destroyed. Finally, the Pentagon wants to be able to share information about an US
citizen with other intelligence agencies.
Bulzomi, J, Michael.. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act: Before and after the USA
PATRIOT Act. FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin. 01 Jun. 2003: 25. eLibrary. Web. 17
Sep. 2014. Bulzomis article is about the USA PATRIOT Act and why it was created.
First, Bulzomi states that this act was created to use surveillance and physical searches to
combat foreign threats. Then, he talks about FISA which made it so the government
needed judicial approval before conducting surveillance on foreign intelligence. Lastly,
Bulzomi mentions that the USA PATRIOT Act do not violate the fourth amendment.
Fisher, William.. RIGHTS-U.S. :FBI SILENT ON REPORTS THAT IT WATCHES
THE WEB. Global Information Network. 01 Feb. 2005 eLibrary. Web. 17 Sep. 2014.
Fisher provides examples of what types of surveillance the US government uses. Pen trap
surveillance needs little authorization to do so. Another example is that the government
doesnt need any court order to track suspected computer trespassers. Finally, Fishers
article talks about the USA Patriot Act and what the government can do under this act.
Full Text: The United States Global Surveillance Record (3). Xinhua News Agency.
26 May. 2014 eLibrary. Web. 17 Sep. 2014. This source discusses about how the NSA
has been spying on US citizens. First, they mention about how these surveillance
activities have been done in secret. Next, the authors talk about how US officials argue

Ledesma 3
that their surveillance operations are legal and do not target US citizens, but only if they
are traveling around the world they do so. Last, the NSA collecteed large sums of phone
records from within the US.
RIGHTS-U.S.: TWO GROUPS SUE TO STOP WARRANTLESS WIRETAPS.
Global Information Network. 19 Jan. 2006 eLibrary. Web. 17 Sep. 2014. The authors
article talks about how a NSA program has been spying on US citizens overseas without
a court warrant. He then says that the NSA need a warrant granted by a special court of
judges to be able to spy on US citizens because of FISA. This act also allows the NSA to
track a suspect for up to 72 hours before needing warrant.