US Senate passes its version of NDAA bill

[Sexy Beast]

The US Senate on Thursday passed its version of a bill that, among other provisions, would enable the US military to indefinitely detain anyone who is deemed to be engaging in terrorist activities.

93 Senators voted for the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with only seven opposing and none abstaining. (A list of who voted for the bill is available at OpenCongress.)

The NDAA authorises $662 billion in funds for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and military personnel. The act's Subtitle D, which discusses "counter-terrorism," would also allow the military to detain anyone, including US citizens, on home soil, without having to guarantee a trial.

The House will also vote on the bill, and then must reconcile its version with the Senate's, before the legislation could be sent to the President's desk. A roll call was held over the bill in late May in the House, where 322 Representatives supported, 96 opposed, and 13 abstained.

The Senate later adopted, in a 99-1 vote, a compromise amendment, stating that the NDAA is not intended to change the current legal authority of the government to imprison individuals detained in the "war on terror".
Obama's administration has cautioned it would veto NDAA, although some political observers say the president would sign it anyway to avoid political headaches.

Daphne Eviatar, an associate for the Human Rights First group, told Democracy Now that "[Obama] has said he will. Whether he will is a difficult question because, politically, it’s difficult to veto a defense spending bill that 680 pages long and includes authorization to spend on a whole range of military programs."

Senator Rand Paul from Kentucky, son of presidential candidate Ron Paul, voiced concerns over the bill on the Senate floor on Wednesday. "Under the provisions, wouldn't it be possible, then, that an American citizen could be declared an enemy combatant and sent to Guantanamo Bay and detained indefinitely?"

John McCain, who had helped write out the relevant provision in the bill, responded: "I think that as long as that individual, no matter who they are, if they pose a threat to the security of the United States of America, should not be allowed to continue that threat."

Senator Lindsay Graham, a supporter of NDAA, explained that it "basically say in law for the first time that the homeland is part of the battlefield" and anyone can be detained, "American citizen or not."

Christopher Anders, senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, also expressed disappointment: "Since the bill puts military detention authority on steroids and makes it permanent, American citizens and others are at greater risk of being locked away by the military without charge or trial if this bill becomes law."

As of this writing, the mainstream media were mostly silent about the "counter-terrorism" provisions in the legislation. As such, more detailed information surrounding NDAA's passage is difficult to obtain.
The bill, numbered H.R. 1540, was sponsored by Republican Representative Howard McKeon from California. The full legislation text is available on OpenCongress (warning: large file).

What a waste of funds. Seriously, what the fuck is the government thinking. Our country is going through the shits right now, and all they can think of is how to let the citizens have less freedom.

So, yes if you want to voice your opinions, be prepared to be sent away for exercising your right of the first amendment.

So, thank you congress! Thank you for fucking up the USA even more.

Source: http://theopenglobe.org/wiki/US_Sen...ld_allow_military_to_detain_anyone_on_US_soil

 

[CassinoChips]

It won't last. First time someone gets arrested and held under this law, the ACLU will have the case in front of the Supreme Court faster than you can say 4th Amendment. That's if Obama doesn't veto it first. Which I'm hoping he'll have the stones to.