Happy New Year, you’re under arrest, don’t worry about a lawyer, you won’t need one.
Yesterday, Dec. 31, 2011, President Obama signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). This act was made to establish the amount of military spending for next year, begin sanctions against the Bank of Iran to halt their nuclear program, and to “freeze $700 million in U.S. aid to Pakistan” The Washington Post declares.
These are not the controversial aspects of this document. What is troubling is the section of the bill which gives the military authority to detain suspected terrorists or associates of terrorists, including U.S. citizens, and hold them indefinitely without trial. It also allows prisoners to be tortured if necessary.
The NDAA will enable: “Detention under the law of war without trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force.” This act essentially enhances the powers of the Patriot Act to make it not only possible for proper authorities to arrest and detain you as a suspected terrorist, but also the military if they decide to, until they decide it’s safe to release you if you’re seemingly innocent.
"In 1971, Congress passed the Anti-Detention Act, 18 U.S.C. § 4001(a), which states that ‘no person shall be imprisoned or otherwise detained by the United States except pursuant to an Act of Congress,’” International News reports. This was created for situations such as when Japanese immigrants were being arrested as suspected “terrorists” during World War II. Habeas Corpus, the right of the constitution to be put before court for any serious crimes, was made for similar reasons.
Obama was outspokenly against the Patriot Act when he was running for president, but it seems he has signed something to strengthen it.
Obama has claimed he will do all he can in the coming year to amend the NDAA to improve the section pertaining to the arresting of American citizens. He says he has “serious reservations
with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists.” The president being able to amend this will require support from many who helped write in these sections.
In Oregon our own Sen. Ron Wyden “was one of only votes against the bill” The Oregonian reported. With such a steep approval of the bill, it seems it will be difficult to repeal it at any length.
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