In this year’s The National Defense Authorization Act there seemed to be some worrisome legislation tucked obscurely away; sections 1031 & 1032 that deal with the military’s ability to pick up and detain US citizens anywhere in the world appeared to be overreaching and unnecessary and set off quite a stir among people across the internet. That it was difficult to find the referenced section only added to the panic. However, it seems that this year’s legislation isn’t proposing anything new at all. Read the sections in question carefully:
Section 1031 of the bills explicitly states “Nothing in this section is intended to limit or expand the authority of the President or the scope of the Authorization for Use of Military Force.”
Section 1032 , which the ACLU says gives the president “the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world,” actually says “The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States.”
Senator Mark Udall’s proposed amendment in opposition to the questionable sections 1031 & 1032, has turned out to be nothing more than a slick political maneuver – as his amendment actually would have expanded the very powers it claimed to oppose! What the current legislation does is maintain the status quo but Udall’s version would have greatly expanded the power of the president.
You can read more about that, here on the Greeley Gazette .
In the meantime, I apologize if I jumped the gun in my original posting of information.
Bill Text – 112th Congress (2011-2012) – THOMAS (Library of Congress)
Image via Wikipedia
Is this legislation as threatening as it sounds? Or did the story get overblown and distorted?
Battlefield US: Americans Face Arrest As War Criminals
America is opening up a new warfront and it’s in your own backyard. It’s in your neighbor’s house, it’s three states over and it’s on the other side of the Mississippi.
That’s what a new legislation could lead to and the consequences are dire and constitutionally damning.
The United States Senate is set to vote this week on a bill that would categorize the entire USA as a “battlefield,” allowing law enforcement duties to be dished out by the American Military, who in turn could detain any US citizen as a war criminal — even coming into their own homes to issue arrests.
The National Defense Authorization Act regularly comes before Congress for changes and additions, but the latest provision, S. 1867, proves to be the most powerful one yet in raping constitutional freedoms from Americans. Move over, Patriot Act. Should S. 1867 pass, lawmakers could conjure the text to keep even regular citizens detained indefinitely by their own military.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a supporter of the bill, has explicitly stated that the passing of S. 1867 would “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield” and could lead to the detention of citizens without charge or trial, writes Chris Anders of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Washington office.
Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H) sits on the same side of the aisle and agrees wholeheartedly. “America is part of the battlefield,” says the lawmaker.
America’s Military is already operating in roughly 200 countries, dishing out detention and executions to citizens of other nations. As unrest erupts on the country’s own soil amid a recession, economic collapse and protests in hundreds of cities from coast-to-coast, is it that much of a surprise that lawmakers finally want to declare the US a war zone?
Maybe not, but if the Senate has their way, the consequential could be detrimental to the US Constitution.
“The Senate is going to vote on whether Congress will give this president — and every future president — the power to order the military to pick up and imprison without charge or trial civilians anywhere in the world,” adds Anders. “The power is so broad that even US citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself.”
Battlefield US: Americans face arrest as war criminals under Army state law
