November 28, 2011 Deborah Dupre,
Human Rights ExaminerMartial Law 'National Defense Authorization Act bill' versus Udall Amendment
As the Senate readies to vote on an amendment that would enact Martial Law and human rights violations worse than the United States has seen to date as John McCain and Levin are supporting, an afront on the U.S. Constitution, ACLU said Monday in a written statement that senators need to hear from Americans now to urge Senators to vote instead for the Udall Amendment that Senator Mark Udall has written about in the Washington Post Monday.
"I have no doubt that my colleagues had the best of intentions when they wrote those provisions, but their proposal is deeply flawed," stated Mark Udall in his op-ed in the Washington Post Monday. "If the Senate passes this legislation in a vote expected this week, we risk harming our ability to combat terrorism and weakening our national security."
ACLU stated in a written statement Monday afternoon urging immediate public outcry, "Either tonight or tomorrow, there will be a vote on whether Congress will give this president — and every future president — the power to order the military to indefinitely imprison people anywhere in the world without charging them or trying them."
"The power is so broad that even U.S. citizens, within our own country's borders, could be swept up by the military."
The National Defense Authorization Act bill, that is on the Senate floor now, "was drafted in secret and passed in a closed-door committee meeting, and includes this dangerous provision allowing worldwide indefinite detention without charge or trial," says ACLU.
Udall reported, "While Sens. Levin and McCain argue that the provisions merely codify existing authority to detain accused terrorists, the secretary of defense, the directors of national intelligence and the FBI, and the White House — along with numerous defense experts — have said this would amount to a significant expansion of the military’s detention authority."
In November, Dupré reported:
"The Times reported that "the vote took place in a closed session and the text of the legislation has not been made public."
"The secretly discussed and approved package passed with a 25 to 1 vote as part of the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act. Only a brief summary of the act as a whole has been released.
"The mandatory detention provision was drafted by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., the committee chairman, and Republicans John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina.
"The Committee on Armed Services is the United States Senate committee that is empowered with legislative oversight of the United States military, including: the Department of Defense, military research and development, nuclear energy (related to national security), members of the military benefits, the Selective Service System and other defense policy matters. (Wikipedia) ("Martial law provision secretly passed in Congress Committee. Dupré, D.)
Monday, Sen. Udall reported, "The White House is so concerned about the changes that it has threatened to veto the defense authorization legislation if they are included. In light of that, I have offered an amendment aimed at averting a veto. "
"But there is a way to stop this craziness," states UCLA, advocating to support Udall's bill.
Udall wrote in the Post, "My amendment would strike the detention provisions from the bill and require the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice and State as well as the director of national intelligence to issue a joint report detailing the gaps in our detention policy.
"This report would be due within 90 days and would allow Congress to draft detention legislation that meets our national security needs and keeps faith with the guiding principles of our Constitution."
ACLU says, "Senator Mark Udall is offering the Udall Amendment that will delete the harmful provisions and replace them with a requirement for an orderly review of detention power. The Udall Amendment will make sure that the bill matches up with American values.
"Now is the time to act. Please urge your senators to vote YES on the Udall Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act."
ACLU says the secret bill that would put into effect Martial Law "seems almost unimaginable that the Senate would even consider passing a provision that is such a deep affront to human rights and to American values."
"But, this outrageous measure could be voted on at any moment.
"And because this bill is so dangerous and fast-moving, once you've petitioned your senators, please ask your friends and relatives to do the same. The only way to stop this outrage is for as many Americans as possible to contact their senators immediately."
Udall concluded Monday, "We owe it to our service members and the citizens they protect to pass the defense authorization bill quickly. But without the expertise of our military professionals, we simply don’t know how destabilizing these detention provisions could be to national security policy."
Sounds like it could be a slippery slope; U.S citizens are entitled to a trial and what if the government accidentally imprisons someone who isn’t a terrorist? It’s happened before.
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