Matt Rothschild has a disturbing article about the National Defense Authorization Act, S. 1867 which, if passed, would give the government the power to throw U.S. citizens into Gitmo.
Section 1031 of the bill gives the President and the Armed Forces enormous power to detain people they believe were involved in the attacks of Sept. 11 or supported Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or “associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners.”
That section empowers the President to detain such persons indefinitely without trial or to try them before a military court or to transfer them “to the custody or control of the person's country of origin, any other foreign country, or any other foreign entity.”
Sen. Mark Udall of Colorado introduced an amendment would, according to Human Rights First:
...would have removed three troubling sections of the defense authorization bill, proposals that the Obama Administration has warned could result in a Presidential veto. One section authorizes the military to indefinitely detain without charge individuals – including American citizens apprehended on U.S. soil – who are suspected of involvement with terrorism. A second section forces law enforcement officials to transfer a large category of terrorism suspects into military custody, against the advice of counterterrorism professionals. A third section will further institute restrictions on the transfer of cleared Guantanamo detainees.
Much to my chagrin, both Wisconsin senators voted against the amendment. I expect a jagoff like Ron Johnson to be all gung-ho and vote against it but so did Herb Kohl.
Don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, Mr. Kohl.
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