Indefinite Detention, Endless Worldwide War and the 2012
National Defense Authorization Act

American Civil Liberties Union
December 5, 2011

http://www.aclu.org/indefinite-detention-endless-worldwide-war-and-2012-national-defense-authorization-act

As Congress considers the National Defense Authorization Act
(NDAA) for the 2012 fiscal year, a handful of senators have
turned the bill into a vehicle for dangerous provisions that
would authorize the president - and all future presidents -
to order the military to pick up and imprison people,
including U.S. citizens, without charging them or putting
them on trial.

Earlier this year, the House passed its own version of the
bill, with an even smaller group of members pushing for
inclusion of a provision that would authorize worldwide war,
and worldwide imprisonment, in virtually any country where a
terrorism suspect lives, even here in America itself.

Now, both houses of Congress are now rushing to come up with
a joint version and rush it through Congress within the next
week or two. The "Big Four" leaders of the Senate and House
Armed Services Committee are huddling behind closed doors and
may very well spring a new bill on Congress, once again
without so much as a hearing. Contact your members of
Congress right now >>

The president isn't the one asking for this legislation - in
fact, the White House has repeatedly threatened to veto the
bill over its concern for indefinite detention provisions.
And, the Secretary of Defense, the Director of National
Intelligence, the Director of the FBI and the head of the
Justice Department’s National Security Division have all said
that the indefinite detention provisions in the NDAA are
harmful and counterproductive.

The provisions - which were negotiated by a small group of
members of Congress, in secret, and without proper
congressional review - are inconsistent with fundamental
American values embodied in the Constitution. Fundamental
American values and fundamental freedoms are on the line.

The ACLU is urging Congress to vote against any and all
efforts to send indefinite detention legislation or unlimited
worldwide war authority to the White House. And, if it gets
that far, President Obama should follow through on his threat
to veto the bill.

Please contact your members of Congress immediately. Congress
needs to continue hearing from Americans who are outraged by
this proposal. Final action on this bill could come at any
moment. Whether you’ve acted on this issue before or not, we
need you to speak up now.

Read more about the NDAA on the ACLU’s Blog of Rights

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