Senate Bill Would Allow US Military To Indefinitely Detain Americans Without Charge Or Trial Anywhere In The World

Senate Moves To Allow Military To Intern Americans Without Trial (InfoWars, Nov. 28, 2011):

NDAA detention provision would turn America into a “battlefield”

The Senate is set to vote on a bill today that would define the whole of the United States as a “battlefield” and allow the U.S. Military to arrest American citizens in their own back yard without charge or trial.

“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. The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens could be swept up by the military and the military could be used far from any battlefield, even within the United States itself,” writes Chris Anders of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office.

Under the ‘worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial’ provision of S.1867, the National Defense Authorization Act bill, which is set to be up for a vote on the Senate floor this week, the legislation will “basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who supports the bill.

The bill was drafted in secret by Senators Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), before being passed in a closed-door committee meeting without any kind of hearing. The language appears in sections 1031 and 1032 of the NDAA bill.

“I would also point out that these provisions raise serious questions as to who we are as a society and what our Constitution seeks to protect,” Colorado Senator Mark Udall said in a speech last week. One section of these provisions, section 1031, would be interpreted as allowing the military to capture and indefinitely detain American citizens on U.S. soil. Section 1031 essentially repeals the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 by authorizing the U.S. military to perform law enforcement functions on American soil. That alone should alarm my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, but there are other problems with these provisions that must be resolved.”

This means Americans could be declared domestic terrorists and thrown in a military brig with no recourse whatsoever. Given that the Department of Homeland Security has characterized behavior such as buying gold, owning guns, using a watch or binoculars, donating to charity, using the telephone or email to find information, using cash, and all manner of mundane behaviors as potential indicators of domestic terrorism, such a provision would be wide open to abuse.

“American citizens and people picked up on American or Canadian or British streets being sent to military prisons indefinitely without even being charged with a crime. Really? Does anyone think this is a good idea? And why now?” asks Anders.

The ACLU is urging citizens to call their Senator and demand that the Udall Amendment be added to the bill, a change that would at least act as a check to prevent Americans being snatched off the streets without some form of Congressional oversight.

We have been warning for over a decade that Americans would become the target of laws supposedly aimed at terrorists and enemy combatants. Alex Jones personally documented how U.S. troops were being trained to arrest U.S. citizens in the event of martial law during urban warfare training drills back in the 90?s. Under the the National Defense Authorization Act bill, no declaration of martial law is necessary since Americans would now be subject to the same treatment as suspected insurgents in places like Afghanistan and Iraq.

If you thought that the executive assassination of American citizens abroad was bad enough, now similar powers will be extended to the “homeland,” in other words, your town, your community, your back yard.

2 thoughts on “Senate Bill Would Allow US Military To Indefinitely Detain Americans Without Charge Or Trial Anywhere In The World”

  1. As Written Sections 1031 and 1032 of S. 1867 Do NOT Apply to U.S. Citizens

    Udall Amendment SA 1112 To INCLUDE U.S. Citizens and Lawful Resident Aliens in Military Detentions

    “Sen. Udall is attempting to provide the act of congress needed to by-pass the Posse Comitatus Act and the ACLU wants you to help him do it

    In direct contradiction to the bill as written, one of Udall’s amendments to s. 1867 will include language that makes it clear that military detentions “extends to citizens of the United States and lawful resident aliens of the United States“”

    Reply
  2. This is so upsetting, I cannot find words to express my thoughts. A call to our Senator Boxer resulted with a “no comment.” We are seen as a rogue nation around the world, and this proves it.
    I am heartsick. I am advanced in years, and remember when we had such civil rights as habeas corpus…..it was all taken away while Americans slept. Our big mistake as a culture was to allow the government to run itself. We were all so properous, so busy…..stopped paying attention. Those of us who did pay attention and objected were given no voice. The development of the Internet changed that. So, this week, they are censoring the Internet and going to pass this outrage of a law.
    If anyone else tells me the democrats are any different than the republicans, I wll scream. We live in a corporate oligarchy, and OWS has managed to upset them. They thought they had the propaganda covered with corporate media….they forgot the Internet. Now, they want to shut it down. I have spent my long life with engineers, they will develop alternative channels of information. But, with a police state, it will be much harder.

    Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.