ABSTRACT
Terrorism is responded to in various ways by multiple institutions. This chapter reviews recent developments in counterterrorism policy and law in the United States. Specifically addressed are the establishment of the Department of Homeland Security, the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act, and related intelligence activities. In popular discourse and the media, these policy and legal components of the U.S. counterterrorism approach have aroused much discussion and debate. Though the value of such normative contemplations cannot be denied, the scholarly approach adopted in this book chooses a different route, which is geared strictly toward an examination of empirical developments as they have in recent years taken place. It is hoped that this approach can also restore some realism and logic to the debate over the ideal course of relevant policy and law.
