Sprat Issue 30 – Military Detentions
By James Donahue
The writer identifying himself as Jack Sprat lists a problem of changes in police and military detention techniques among his list of 57 concerns. And it is true that since former President George W. Bush and his gang declared the government’s invisible war against anybody suspected of possible "terrorist" activities, lawmakers have given both agencies unprecedented powers of detention that clearly violate our Constitutional Bill of Rights.
Unfortunately, the situation has not changed much under the Obama Administration.
By definition, detention is a process of holding a person against their will and removing their freedom of liberty. This used to always involve criminal charges or, when done by the military, it involved holding enemy soldiers as "prisoners of war." It was always done under the rules set by a court of law so that the accused prisoner was never denied the right to a fair hearing; legally known as as due process.
Since 9-11 and the declaration of "war on terrorism," the United States has adopted a controversial system of indefinite detention of so-called "enemy combatants" under the laws of war. Even though the nation as never declared war against particular cells of terrorist operatives, the military has seen fit to detain captured suspects and apply the laws of war when keeping them locked in military prison facilities like Guantanamo, Cuba and rarely granting them a criminal trial.
Even more frightening was the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act in 2012 which includes sections 1021 and 1022 that give the U.S. military the power to arrest and detain, without charges or trial, anyone suspected of terrorism anywhere in the world . . . including American citizens. There were two alarming parts to this act that appear to be in total violation of the Constitutional rights of Americans. It gives the military the power to act against American citizens even on American soil. It also fails to give a clear definition of a terrorist act. It merely described such an act as being "engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners."
Army Private Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning, accused of releasing classified military documents to the controversial publication Wikileaks, was arrested and convicted of violating the Espionage Act after he leaked volumes of classified military documents linked to the Iraq War to the controversial publication Wikileaks. He is currently serving a prison sentence.
Efforts have been underway to capture and arrest Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange, an Australian who has been granted political asylum in the Ecuador embassy in London. Assange has remained trapped in the embassy for fear of seizure by the CIA.
The dreaded Patriot Act, passed by legislators within weeks after 9-11, gave police agencies, the FBI, the Secret Service and CIA the authority to tap into electronic communications of American citizens without seeking court orders. Also since that event, police agencies have been more and more militant in the treatment of citizens caught up in public protest movements such as Occupy Wall Street.
Most Americans didn’t expect President Barack Obama to go along with the detention precedents established by the outgoing Bush/Cheney Administration, mostly because of his promise as a candidate to close Guantanamo after taking office. Not only did he fail to keep that promise, but Mr. Obama now fights court cases attempting to block section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act that gives the military the power to arrest American citizens, even on U. S. soil.
As the Middle Eastern conflicts heat up, and America finds itself under Islamic attacks from all sides, the Obama Administration argues that it needs to maintain the power to indefinitely detain people for the sake of national security.
Yes, Mr. Sprat, the shifts in the laws that now allow the military and even our police force to control, arrest and detain American citizens without due process is an issue of deep concern.
By James Donahue
The writer identifying himself as Jack Sprat lists a problem of changes in police and military detention techniques among his list of 57 concerns. And it is true that since former President George W. Bush and his gang declared the government’s invisible war against anybody suspected of possible "terrorist" activities, lawmakers have given both agencies unprecedented powers of detention that clearly violate our Constitutional Bill of Rights.
Unfortunately, the situation has not changed much under the Obama Administration.
By definition, detention is a process of holding a person against their will and removing their freedom of liberty. This used to always involve criminal charges or, when done by the military, it involved holding enemy soldiers as "prisoners of war." It was always done under the rules set by a court of law so that the accused prisoner was never denied the right to a fair hearing; legally known as as due process.
Since 9-11 and the declaration of "war on terrorism," the United States has adopted a controversial system of indefinite detention of so-called "enemy combatants" under the laws of war. Even though the nation as never declared war against particular cells of terrorist operatives, the military has seen fit to detain captured suspects and apply the laws of war when keeping them locked in military prison facilities like Guantanamo, Cuba and rarely granting them a criminal trial.
Even more frightening was the passage of the National Defense Authorization Act in 2012 which includes sections 1021 and 1022 that give the U.S. military the power to arrest and detain, without charges or trial, anyone suspected of terrorism anywhere in the world . . . including American citizens. There were two alarming parts to this act that appear to be in total violation of the Constitutional rights of Americans. It gives the military the power to act against American citizens even on American soil. It also fails to give a clear definition of a terrorist act. It merely described such an act as being "engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners."
Army Private Bradley (now Chelsea) Manning, accused of releasing classified military documents to the controversial publication Wikileaks, was arrested and convicted of violating the Espionage Act after he leaked volumes of classified military documents linked to the Iraq War to the controversial publication Wikileaks. He is currently serving a prison sentence.
Efforts have been underway to capture and arrest Wikileaks publisher Julian Assange, an Australian who has been granted political asylum in the Ecuador embassy in London. Assange has remained trapped in the embassy for fear of seizure by the CIA.
The dreaded Patriot Act, passed by legislators within weeks after 9-11, gave police agencies, the FBI, the Secret Service and CIA the authority to tap into electronic communications of American citizens without seeking court orders. Also since that event, police agencies have been more and more militant in the treatment of citizens caught up in public protest movements such as Occupy Wall Street.
Most Americans didn’t expect President Barack Obama to go along with the detention precedents established by the outgoing Bush/Cheney Administration, mostly because of his promise as a candidate to close Guantanamo after taking office. Not only did he fail to keep that promise, but Mr. Obama now fights court cases attempting to block section 1021 of the National Defense Authorization Act that gives the military the power to arrest American citizens, even on U. S. soil.
As the Middle Eastern conflicts heat up, and America finds itself under Islamic attacks from all sides, the Obama Administration argues that it needs to maintain the power to indefinitely detain people for the sake of national security.
Yes, Mr. Sprat, the shifts in the laws that now allow the military and even our police force to control, arrest and detain American citizens without due process is an issue of deep concern.