The Conservative Revolution 327Bush also insisted that the war on terrorism necessitated the United
States to “deter and defend against the threat before it is unleashed.” In
other words, this novel and dangerous policy meant that the United
States could and would act preemptively and alone, if necessary. This
was a major alteration of American foreign policy and would lead to an
undermining of its influence and authority in western Europe and
other parts of the world. The United States was seen as the “bully” of
the globe, intent on imposing its will, policies, and goals on other na-
tions.
This war on terror and the need to protect national security drove
the Bush administration farther into pursuing actions that increased
presidential prerogatives so that oversight of its activities, whether by
Congress or the courts, could be sidestepped. In the fall of 2001 the
Patriot Act (Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appro-
priate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism) was passed
by which the federal government assumed unparalleled authority to
obtain information about the activities of citizens and apprehend likely
terrorists. A second Patriot Act, passed in 2003, expanded the govern-
ment’s surveillance and secret arrest powers. What troubled many
Americans was the fact that the administration had the unlimited au-
thority to wiretap citizens without fi rst obtaining a court order. In ex-
ercising its increased powers, the government rounded up over 1 , 000
suspects, some of them American citizens, and locked them up in a
camp in Guantanamo, Cuba. Few were brought to trial. The adminis-
tration felt it had the right to bypass the courts in the name of national
security.
The Homeland Security Department was established in 20 02;
twenty-two different agencies, including immigration, naturalization,
customs, Secret Service, coast guard, and airport operators were incor-
porated into this one department. FEMA (Federal Emergency Man-
agement Agency) was mistakenly added to Homeland Security, as was
demonstrated shortly thereafter when Hurricane Katrina struck the
Gulf coast on August 29, 2005, and it failed to adequately assist the vic-
tims of this storm. After the Defense Department, Homeland Security
had more employees than any other federal agency. Many citizens rightly
worried that civil liberties and privacy rights would be violated.
Emboldened by the opportunity to assume even greater power in