US Senate Passes 2016 NDAA as the Country Mourns for CharlestonBy Claire Bernish Unfortunately, that is exactly what has happened with the indefinite detention provision passed into law as part of the 2012 NDAA. As the Senate took the callous opportunity afforded by the shooting in Charleston to ram through its veto-proof approval of nobodys favorite legislation for fiscal year 2016, another golden opportunity to bring the egregious law to the forefront passed right by. In 2011, the National Defense Authorization Actsigned by President Obama during the distraction of the New Years holidayemployed stunning linguistic trickery to legalize one of the most dramatic attacks on civil liberties yet, as described by the Harvard Law Record. Sections 1021 and 1022 codified indefinite, military detention of American citizens under the worn-out, unapologetically nebulous guise of terrorism. This codification of indefinite detention is chilling because it represents how quickly and drastically our nations discourse about civil liberties has changed in just a few years, stated Ariel Schneller, executive board member of the ACLUs Harvard Law School chapter in February 2012. Another worrisome aspect of the NDAA is that it may authorize the indefinite detention even of American citizens captured within the United States. The bills language is ambiguous: Section 1021 states that [n]othing in this section shall be construed to affect existing law or authorities relating to the detention of United States citizens But Section 1022 says that the requirement that the detainees be held by the military does not apply to American citizens, a confusing clarification if American citizens are not eligible to be detained under 1021 in the first place. Though politicians and others immediately refuted that specific interpretation as paranoid, the dubiety of the language in the lawand those very politicians answers when ostensibly attempting to debunk the ideain actuality served to prove it. This was further evidenced in the failure of the Senate to pass an amendment to Section 1021 to exclude U.S. citizens. Due to the obvious doublespeak in the 2012 NDAA, President Obama sought to mollify growing controversy with an announcement when he signed the legislation. He said, I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. However, without the reassurance of clarified language to that effect, Obamas words did nothing to prevent future presidents the authority to throw American citizens into prison for life without charges or a trial, as an editorial in the New York Times warned. A massive outcry for repeal of the indefinite detention clause(s) soon followed in the wake of the new law, though nothing of consequence ever resulted. Over time, in fact, collective amnesia might best describe the overall reaction to the enormous potential breach of civil and constitutional rights looming over usas if ignoring its presence might somehow lessen the laws reality. In an attempt to strike the indefinite detention provision from the books, journalist Chris Hedges and a group of activists sued President Obama, citing a pattern of unprecedented assault on freedom in America. However, the very ambiguity of the law seemed to win out when a three-judge panel for the Second Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the suit. According to the judges, the law, says nothing at all about the Presidents authority to detain American citizens. Hedges was understandably perplexed with the decision. He explained, Its sad that we cant find any kind of redress through the courts. Theres nowhere left to turn in this really egregious assault against our most basic civil liberties. Contrary to unfortunate rumors that managed to gain popular appeal, indefinite detention does not require annual renewalunless specifically repealed, the law still awaits its first unwitting test subject. How quickly we forgeteven those matters with the potential for personal repercussions. This unconscionable law must once again be brought to the forefront until concerted effort and unrelenting outrage results in a repeal. Until that time, it is possible to fight back on a grassroots, community level with the assistance of People Against the NDAA (PANDA)a group that has successfully fought the egregious legislation in several locations across the country. For more information, visit pandaunite.org. For over three years, this staggering violation of rights has waited in the wings to be wielded against an American citizen at the presidents whimand each day that passes in silence signals our tacit acceptance. Claire Bernish writes for theAntiMedia.org, where this article first appeared. Tune in! Anti-Media Radio airs Monday through Friday @ 11pm Eastern/8pm Pacific. You never want a serious crisis go to waste. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yeA_kHHLow OUR DICTATOR SUCKS! He probably doesbut what in particular? THE FIRST 3 GUESSES DONT COUNT Oh! No! Not that one! Great pic! Thanks! YEAH! HE POSED REALLY NICE IN HIS NEW FASCIST SUIT HIS MOM BOT HIM! I read a couple of years ago of a woman being held in the same way at a military base for months. No lawyer, no trial, nothing. She just sat there. Somehow she got ahold of her Uncle many months later, and he knew a judge. That is how she got out. How about people who do not know a judge to help them? So I guess there HAS been a person taken with the NDAA. And what about the 80 something year old Librarian, that the US govt took, and it took quite some time to get her free? Was that NDAA or Patriot Act? could be why the unPatriot Act was allowed to expire so much for the 4th amendment. The Fourth Amendment originally enforced the notion that each mans home is his castle, secure from unreasonable searches and seizures of property by the government. It protects against arbitrary arrests, and is the basis of the law regarding search warrants, stop-and-frisk, safety inspections, wiretaps, and other forms of surveillance, as well as being central to many other criminal law topics and to privacy law. http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/billofrights#amendmentii We dont have government we have an extortion agency. 