After threatening to veto it, President Obama said he would reluctantly sign the National Defense Authorization Act. The bill, which authorizes $662 billion for defense spending also contains language that essentially makes it illegal to close Guantanamo, gives the President power to detain without trial anyone who supported or aided a terrorist group, including U.S. citizens, and requires non-citizen terrorism suspects to be detained by the military instead of according to civilian law. That final element of the law can be waived by the President, but according to Human Rights Watch, "President Obama will go down in history as the president who enshrined indefinite detention without trial in U.S. law."
-Brett Brownell (@brettbrownell) is video and web producer for Up with Chris Hayes.
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It's the next Republican President who will use this power. Lots of nuisance "terrorists" to terminate.
Why is #OccupyFortCollins so upset about indefinite detension aspects of #NDAA ??? Today we protest, tomorrow we are detained. That's why. See
Some people trust the courts to rule in favor of basic human rights and specific American ideals. I'm appalled that something as blatantly unconstitutional was even considered in the Congress.
I thought the Confederate nonsense was bad but apparently some folks never got over their longing for a monarch. Are these "daddy" issues we're seeing played out?
No, they are "end-time" apocalyptic visions of dominionists which many on the right-wing political spectrum in this country adhere to.
If the President can detain a terrorist suspect without charge or trial, it means that people can just disappear. So much for American Exceptionalism.
If you are detained under the law there will be no way to challenge the detention because there is no charge to challenge and no right to a hearing, in other words you disappear. So much for American Exceptionalism.