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Obama signs NDAA again, disappoints on Gitmo and civil liberties again

Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:20:00 +0000

This time last year, President Obama said that he had "serious reservations" about certain provisions of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. But he signed it anyway. This year, the same provisions over which he was so reserved remain in the 2013 version of the bill, along with a number of brand-new problematic amendments. The president threatened a veto on the new bill's prohibitions on closing Guantánamo Bay detention center. But he didn't veto; he signed the bill again on Thursday.

Once again, Obama expressed his misgivings in a signing statement, but stressed that "the need to renew critical defense authorities and funding was too great" to reject the bill, which approved a $633 billion armed forces budget for the 2013 fiscal year. Also approved in the NDAA are controversial provisions that will likely make closing Guantánamo Bay detention center impossible in Obama's presidency, and provisions elsewhere in the act that allow for the indefinite military detention of U.S. citizens.

NDAA’s indefinite detention without trial returns

Wed, 19 Dec 2012 23:16:00 +0000

On Tuesday, Congress dropped an amendment from the National Defense Authorization Act for 2013 that was designed to protect American citizens from indefinite detention by the military without trial or charge.

The stripped amendment, authored by Sen. Diane Feinstein, D-Calif., had been added to the defense spending bill two weeks ago. Human rights advocates viewed it as a check on the government's current authority to indefinitely detain--without habeas corpus or due process--American citizens who commit a "belligerent act" against the United States until the period of hostilities ends.

When President Obama signed the 2012 NDAA into law on December 31, 2011, he condemned the powers given to him under the controversial section 1021:

[M]y Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a Nation. My Administration will interpret section 1021 in a manner that ensures that any detention it authorizes complies with the Constitution, the laws of war, and all other applicable law.

Senate votes down indefinite detention of Americans — or does it?

Fri, 30 Nov 2012 13:45:00 +0000

The Senate on Thursday voted in favor of a narrow amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act in the hope of ensuring an end to the indefinite detention of Americans. The newest draft of the 2013 act now includes provisions that aim to protect citizens inside the U.S. from military imprisonment, thanks to an amendment introduced by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif.

Within hours of the amendment's approval, civil liberties advocates pointed out significant problems that remain in the NDAA, while lawyers noted that the amendment may even fail to achieve its intended purpose regarding the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Under the 2012 act, any person suspected of terrorism or substantial support for terrorism in the U.S.could be held without trial indefinitely. To ensure the writ of habeas corpus, the newest draft includes the following:

NDAA protest hits Twitter during debate

Tue, 23 Oct 2012 11:56:00 +0000

Among the trending Twitter hashtags during Monday night's debate, #StopNDAA rose to prominence alongside #HorsesAndBayonets. The trend had little to do with Barack Obama and Mitt Romney's foreign policy debate, during which the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and its troubling indefinite detention provision got no mention. With the awareness that neither candidate would touch upon it, online activists took it upon themselves to push the issue on Twitter.

The campaigning group Stop NDAA originally proposed the tweet jacking protest via their site, noting "both parties are colluding in denying you your First and Fifth amendment rights under the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, and both candidates refuse to discuss this bipartisan assault on civil liberties."

NDAA plaintiffs fear U.S. citizens already in military detention

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 21:45:00 +0000

A group of journalists and activists took to content sharing site Reddit today to answer questions on their lawsuit against President Obama's indefinite detention act. In his responses, one of the plaintiffs, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Chris Hedges, said he believed that there are already U.S. citizens held in military detention by the U.S. at home and abroad.

Chris Hedges and Daniel Ellsberg are among the six plaintiffs (others include Noam Chomsky and Naomi Wolf) who recently won a permanent block from a federal judge against the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act) and its provision to allow the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens. The Obama administration's attorneys immediately filed an appeal to overturn the judge's decision.