The National Defense Authorization Act is illegal

Civil liberties organizations are unanimous that the National Defense Authorization Act is illegal and that President Obama should veto it

The National Defense Authorization Act has been passed by the Senate and human rights organizations are already fearing the impact it may make on the individual liberty of common citizens in the US. Muslim organizations have started a campaign against this legislation that will certainly threaten the personal freedom and give overriding powers to FBI and other law enforcing agencies and the person arrested wouldn’t have any right to even approach civil courts and will be deprived of rights available to citizens.

The new legislation will give freedom to US military and other secret service organizations to arrest and keep a person under detention for an indefinite period. The good thing is that human rights and civil liberties organizations are coming forward and have approached President Obama to veto the draconian law.

Hawks among democrats including Sen. John McCain and Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, meanwhile have said that they support the legislation whole heartedly and would go to any extent to see it through and implemented in its present form.

The National Defense Authorization Act is among the most reckless piece of legislations mooted in recent years and it would deny terror suspects in the US any right to approach court and would allow security agencies and the army to keep under detention anyone for as long as they deem fit.

The National Defense Authorization Act is so much impractical and outrageously anti-people and anti civil liberties that even White House has threatened to veto the provisions. Top officials of President Obama have said that it was practical and better to keep the option of prosecuting suspected militants in civilian as well as military courts — and deciding this case by case.

This is the first time that anyone has though of such stupid legislation. So far American citizens were exempt from the mandatory military detention requirement. The National Defense Authorization Act also allows military officials not to place a prisoner in the U.S. criminal court system if it is in the interest of national security.

People are at their wits ends by the new piece of legislation and a reader says, “What concerns me about this provision is that it all hinges on how the government or military defines an enemy combatant. Are we privy to how they arrive at that determination? Do we have any say as to who is or isn’t an enemy combatant? There are clear cut cases of who is or isn’t an enemy combatant, but who is to stop them from expanding the definition? Will they consider anyone who wishes to protest or speak out against the president, congress, or the military as an enemy sympathizer, hence a potential enemy combatant? Who is to stop powerful political figures, large corporations, lobbyists, or simply people with differing political views to use these provisions to unjustly accuse someone or some group of being “potential combatants” simply to silence them? It appears to me that the war on terror will never end, as long as the US defends the interests of certain countries and certain industries”.source