View from the desk of Thomas A. Perkins

After lawmakers revised sections of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the House overwhelmingly passed the conferenced House-Senate version of the NDAA for budget year 2012. The Senate passed the Act 86 – 13, and the White House has indicated that President Obama will sign it in the immediate future.

According to Wikipedia, “the National Defense Authorization Act is a United States federal law that has been enacted for each of the past 48 years to specify the budget and expenditures of the United States Department of Defense.”

The NDAA for 2012 contained troubling language in Section 1031 in regard to indefinite detention of U.S. citizens without a trial or hearing. The wording of Section 1032 gives the executive branch discretion “whether to indefinitely detain U.S. citizens within military detention centers, or alternatively in the Federal prison system.” (Wikipedia) And this has received critical attention by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and media sources, including those known to be pro-Obama.

What this means for the average law-abiding U.S. citizen is that, at some point in the future, President Obama, or his replacement, may decide to arrest U.S. citizens on U.S. soil, classifying them as enemy combatants in the ongoing war on terror. The NDAA for 2012 does nothing to clarify who is a terrorist, and leaves the door open for broad interpretation by the executive branch. This is what concerns human rights’ groups, and alarms this writer as well.

Section 1031 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), now winding its way through the Senate, if signed into law by President Obama, will authorize the U.S. military to conduct law enforcement actions on American soil.

Quoting from Russia Today, it would “permit the federal government to indefinitely detain American citizens on American soil, without charge or trial, at the discretion of the president.”

It’s very interesting how news of this magnitude has not been widely reported by American news media. Perhaps they don’t believe it will be ratified by Obama, or they may not want to stir up a hornet’s nest. Either way, it is strange that “opposition to NDAA has remained almost nonexistent, with the mainstream [media] neglecting to discuss the colossal implications the bill would have if it is signed into law” (Russia Today)

The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 was intended “to limit the powers of local governments and law enforcement agencies from using federal military personnel to enforce the laws of the land.” (Wikipedia) The Act requires that the order for Army personnel to maintain “law and order” must originate from the U.S. Constitution or by another, subsequent Act of Congress. There is no provision for the Executive branch to issue such orders.

Under the NDAA, the President would have the authority to order the military to pick up and imprison U.S. citizens anywhere in the world and hold them without being charged with a crime. Guantanamo-like prison camps would be established to hold civilians, including U.S. citizens, who have demonstrated traits of domestic terrorism, such as owning guns, buying gold, or donating to charities.