The national defense authorization act pass the US Senate. Indeed it seems like that the political, military industrial, corporate class in Washington DC keep run to re-make US constitutional republic into a powerful, unaccountable military empire. Yesterday the U.S. Senate voted 93 to 7 to pass the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012 which allows the military to operate domestically within the borders of the United States and to possibly (or most probably) detain U.S. citizens without trial. It is so creepy that it is recorded that for the first time in US history, if this national defense authorization act is not vetoed, American citizens may not be guaranteed their Article III right to trial.
“This bill (The national defense authorization act) puts military detention authority on steroids and makes it permanent,” Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel of the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement. “If it becomes law, American citizens and others are at real risk of being locked away by the military without charge or trial.”
Senator Lindsey Graham declared that on this bill (The national defense authorization act) suspected citizens open themselves up “to imprisonment and death”. Additionally, the “war on terror” will undoubtedly expand even more when it is de-linked from 9-11 — see “The War on Terrorism Congress Never Declared — But Soon Might” by Stephen I. Vladeck, a law professor, expert on these issues and associate dean for scholarship at American University Washington College of Law:… an individual may be detained for providing “direct support” (which, in the government’s view, may be nothing more than minor financial or logistical assistance) in aid of “associated forces” that are “engaged in hostilities against … coalition partners.”
Echoing arguments against federal government power made by his father, presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul (R) of Texas, Sen. Rand Paul (R) of Kentucky spoke forcefully against the measure: “We are talking about people who are merely suspected of a crime, and we are talking about American citizens. If these The national defense authorization act provisions pass, we could see American citizens being sent to Guantánamo Bay.”
the national defense authorization act
What the White House said about this the national defense authorization act ? “Counterterrorism officials from the Republican and Democratic administrations have said that the language in this bill would jeopardize national security by restricting flexibility in our fight against Al Qaeda,” White House press secretary Jay Carney said. “By ignoring these non-partisan recommendations, including the recommendations of the secretary of defense, the director of the FBI, the director of national intelligence, and the attorney general, the Senate has unfortunately engaged in a little political micromanagement at the expense of sensible national security policy.”.
The following video shows you about what you need to know about National Defense Authorization Act. On this video, Keith and Raha Wala, an attorney with Human Rights First, analyze the terms of the National Defense Authorization Act, a bill currently being debated by the Senate that includes a series of provisions allowing the American military to imprison American citizens indefinitely without charge or trial. If passed, President Obama has threatened to veto the provision. Wala, who notes that the Pentagon, the intelligence community and the Justice Department oppose the detainee rules, calls on the Senate to “take up as its first order of business tomorrow morning striking it in its entirety.
