• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • AMERICAN DEMOCRACY
  • WORLD DEMOCRACY
  • POLITICAL ART
  • more
    • election technology
    • money politics
    • political dissidents
    • THIRD PARTY
      • third party central
      • green party
      • justice party
      • libertarian party
    • voting methods
  • DC INFO
    • author central
    • about
    • advertise with DC
    • contact
    • privacy policy

Democracy Chronicles

Indefinite Detainment Re-signed by Obama ‘With Concerns’

by John Amaruso - January 5, 2013

FacebookTweetLinkedInPin

Indefinite Detainment Re-signed

by John Amaruso

Yesterday President Obama released a written statement addressing his concerns over the H.R. 4310 bill, also known as the “National Defense Authorization Act” or NDAA. The bill which contains over 680 pages of various appropriations to military personnel and vital security programs, was originally signed into law for the fiscal year 2012. It has been approved again for this fiscal year 2013. While a majority of it’s provisions are mundane and maintain essential military protocol, there are sections of the bill which many civil liberty unions and activists alike see as violating the constitutional rights of the American citizenry including serious abuses like indefinite detainment.

The President who had vocalized his reservations when first signing the bill in 2012, has doubled down on his prudence by releasing a written memo, stating each section he sees as unnecessary, unlawful and counter productive.  Below I have outlined a few key sections President Obama has made a point of addressing in the statement.

Paragraph 3:  “…restrictions on the Defense Department’s ability to retire unneeded ships and aircraft will divert scarce resources needed for readiness and result in future unfunded liabilities.”

Defined: The bill rejects retiring outdated products such as fighter jets/naval ships which are unnecessary in today’s contemporary wars. AKA we are spending money on frivolous expenditures while neglecting priorities for out military men and women.

Paragraph 5: “Section 1025 places limits on the military’s authority to transfer third country nationals currently held at the detention facility in Parwan, Afghanistan… Decisions regarding the disposition of detainees captured on foreign battlefields have traditionally been based upon the judgment of experienced military commanders and national security professionals without unwarranted interference by Members of Congress.”

Defined: Enemy combatants/prisoners of war have always been dealt with by military leaders according to mission goals/ultimate defined ends. By leaving this authority to Members of Congress, the whim of public opinion on elected officials could lead to brazen and unwise choices made by career politicians who seek nothing more than to be re-elected. Free of this burden, military leaders can make the harsh and necessary decisions void of the sway of often irrational public opinion.

Paragraph 6: “Section 1027 renews the bar against using appropriated funds for fiscal year 2012 to transfer Guantanamo detainees into the United States for any purpose.”

Defined: While there was a huge backlash against the executive branch’s desire to try terrorists in Federal court, there is a necessary and vital function of this. Federal court is a viable and effective setting to try and convict the enemies of the United States. It may well be the last legal channel in which this could happen. By disallowing this, in essence Guantanamo Bay remains as the only possible location for these detainees, hence the continuation of it’s operations despite President Obama’s election campaign promise of closing down the controversial camp. Not to mention this violates the separation of powers clause. Section 1028 continues this, hampering the executive branch’s ability to transfer detainees to foreign countries in an attempt to hinder the President’s plan of shutting down Guantanamo Bay.

Expanded Powers for Indefinite Detainment Today

Spy Vs Spy: Espionage Indefinite DetainmentWhile these remain legitimate concerns and problems for the President and his counter-terrorism forces, there is one issue he has failed to address; Section 1021 which gives the military authority to detain any American citizen indefinitely without rights of habeas corpus. President Obama in a signing statement declared that his administration would not abuse that authority.

It sure is reassuring now that the President says he won’t abuse this power handed to him by the Congress… but what about the next guy? There will be a new President in 2016, may he be Republican, Democrat, maybe (I inject the utmost optimism) even a third party candidate. As long as this law remains on the books, successive leaders and officials could take advantage of such unprecedented powers. History shows us that this much more likely to happen than not.

Once a right is taken away, it is much harder to take it back. As shown by the signing of the NDAA, our rights to ourselves and our liberty are being undermined by the Pentagon and Congress. It’s the ability of Congress and elected leaders to essentially “sneak in” a tiny provision into a 1000 page bill that frightens me and most freedom loving people around the world. If such a maneuver is lawful, what is stopping Congress from pulling the rug out from under us? These insidious means to strip away our rights makes it possible for Congress to design a necessary funding bill or law while sneaking in a line or two. In essence, Congress can hold the country hostage to it’s will if it so pleases…

Wait a second…

FacebookTweetLinkedInPin

Filed Under: DC Authors Tagged With: Afghanistan, Civil Rights, Democrats, Edward Snowden, Julian Assange and Wikileaks, Spying and Privacy

About John Amaruso

John Amaruso is a filmmaker and writer based in the greater New York area. His interests include politics, film, and travel. You can find his other writings on his website Mind Under Matter or by following him on Twitter @MindUnderMattr or on Facebook. John is the director of DC's documentary film "Design of a Broken System", currently filming.

Some highlighted Democracy Chronicles topics

Africa American Corruption American Local Elections American State Elections Asia Capitalism and Big Business Celebrity Politics China Democracy Charity Democracy Protests Democrats Dictatorships Education Election History Election Methods Election Security Election Transparency Europe Internet and Democracy Journalism and Free Speech Middle East Minority Voting Rights Money Politics New York City and State Elections Political Artwork Political Dissidents Political Lobbying Redistricting Republicans Russia Socialism and Labor Social Media and Democracy South America Spying and Privacy Supreme Court Third Party Voter Access Voter ID Voter Registration Voter Suppression Voter Turnout Voting Technology Women Voting Rights Worldwide Worldwide Corruption

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Home | DC AUTHORS | Indefinite Detainment Re-signed by Obama ‘With Concerns’

Primary Sidebar

Advertise button

Harnessing The Power Of “We The People” On Independence Day

By Jenna Spinelle July 3, 2022

Democracy does not have a singular definition, which is one of the things that makes it so interesting to me — and undoubtedly to many of you.

Florida Doesn’t Need a Speech Czar

By Steve Schneider June 28, 2022

Full disclosure: I’m a liberal Democrat. So, I won’t be sending in my vote-by-mail ballot for Ron DeSantis in November. Nor will I vote for him in 2024.

democracy chronicles newsletter

DC AUTHORS

Introducing: When The People Decide

By Jenna Spinelle June 25, 2022

Several activists and average citizens have changed their communities and the country by taking important issues directly to votes.

Democracy’s Summer Blockbusters

By Jenna Spinelle June 8, 2022

The summer will be legally and politically charged particularly with the January 6 committee hearings scheduled to begin June 9.

Can American Democracy Have Nice Things?

By Jenna Spinelle June 7, 2022

Universal voting would be the surest way to protect against voter suppression and the active disenfranchisement of a large share of our citizens.

PODCAST: Baby Boomers And American Gerontocracy

By Jenna Spinelle May 23, 2022

Older and younger voters are increasingly at odds: Republicans as a whole skew gray-haired, and within the Democratis, the left-leaning youth vote.

A Dangerous Reprise Of American Exceptionalism In Ukraine

By Jamie Lampidis May 15, 2022

The stakes are too high to cave into Putin’s phantasmatic imperial play, and too high to believe that this war can be won by arming Ukrainians.

On The Coming End Of Roe v. Wade

By Peter J. Dellolio May 11, 2022

Anyone who says that the evolution of law has nothing to do with politics is either very corrupt or very stupid. Laws evolved through the centuries.

Goodbye Roe v. Wade, Goodbye Rule Of Law

By Andrew Straw May 5, 2022

Congress should impeach judges who act like that because it is not good behavior, and they were asked not to act that way when they were confirmed.

MORE FROM OUR AUTHORS

VISIT OUR POLITICAL ART SECTION:

dc political art

DEMOCRACY CULTURE

India: Why Are Punjab Political Singers Under Attack?

India: Why Are Punjab Political Singers Under Attack?

June 8, 2022

The murder of Sidhu Moose Wala has brought attention to the link between Punjabi music and India’s cross-border criminal networks.

University Educated Less Likely To Endorse Authoritarianism

University Educated Less Likely To Endorse Authoritarianism

June 4, 2022

Higher education is now seen as a new political cleavage, with level of education increasingly important in describing political attitudes.

From Cake To Volunteers, Welcome To Australia’s Democracy Day

From Cake To Volunteers, Welcome To Australia’s Democracy Day

May 25, 2022

The atmosphere in the interstate polling booth in Sydney’s inner east resembled that of an emergency room waiting for a donor organ.

Kenyan 'Cartooning For Peace' To Draw Africa Towards Democracy

Kenyan ‘Cartooning For Peace’ To Draw Africa Towards Democracy

May 17, 2022

Cartooning is an art that has been playing a major role in illustrating stories in different ways, from health to politics, and even sports.

Anxious Leaders Influence Their Followers' Anxiety, Even Online

Anxious Leaders Influence Their Followers’ Anxiety, Even Online

May 17, 2022

Organizational leader’s tweets can influence employee anxieties and this effect is more prominent since the rise of COVID-19, study.

MORE CULTURE

VISIT OUR US DEMOCRACY SECTION:

American Democracy