NDAA is a civil liberties night and while Obama issued a directive saying that it wouldn't apply to Americans, that hardly negates the draconian aspects of the law which can be enforced so long as it exists.
Late last year Senate Armed Services Chairman senior member John McCain (R.-Ariz.) and Carl Levin (D-Mich) crafted a National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) addendum that outraged Americans and put the president on the spot. The bill, in part, called for allowing the indefinite detention of Americans with no due process whatsoever. After Obama capitulated and signed the bill into law January 1, we identified the additions everyone was freaking out about: Section 1021 of the NDAA allows the U.S. military to indefinitely detain, without due process, any person engaged in "hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners ... without trial until the end of hostilities." Section 1022 expressly states that the military will imprison anyone who is a member of al-Qaeda or "an associated force" that acts like al-Qaeda; and anyone who planned or carried out an attack, or attempted attack, against the U.S. Section 1022 continues that detaining American citizens is not required. "UNITED STATES CITIZENS — The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States." The bottom line being that the government could have imprisoned anyone suspected of, or even associated with, terrorism. But on February 28, Obama issued a Presidential Directive announcing section 1022 would not apply to Americans. This power was apparently much anticipated by Senator McCain because he's now doing everything in his power to get the legislation enforced, including tying up defense appointments made by the president.
Read the rest here
Business Insider
