Law Review Article Calls 2004 Intelligence and Anti-Terrorism Law a Failure

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“Enhanced intelligence and greater military and police forces alone cannot completely prevent or eradicate terrorism,” concludes an essay from the Spring 2010 Yale Law & Policy Review.  Are We Safer From Terrorism? No—But We Can Be characterizes the2004 Intelligence Reform and Terrorism Prevention Act (IRTPA) as a failure.

It was intended to “reform intelligence in ways that will prevent future terrorist attacks” and designed to diminish anti-American sentiment around the world, but the essay says these efforts have been inadequate. The author, Professor Brian Tamanaha, of Washington University in St. Louis, calls for the U.S. to “change its policies and actions” to address widely believed grievances against the U.S. to improve national security.  He says, “[N]o amount of intelligence reform can make Americans safer from terrorist attacks.”