S. 1867: National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
The ACLU issued a warning, and several websites are claiming this act, for lack of better wording, removes the Posse Commitatus Act, allowing the
Federal military the ability to arrest and detain American citizens without charge or trial.
The ACLU pointed out several sections in the bill that they claim does this.
Text of bill table of cotents
Section 1031 and 1032 - The text that people claim strips
rights
In the first part below, it spells out who is covered under the section. In this case it is Al Queida and Taliban and those who provide material
support. On the off chance one of those individuals is an American - move down to section 1032.
SEC. 1031. AFFIRMATION OF AUTHORITY OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES TO DETAIN COVERED PERSONS PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF
MILITARY FORCE.
(a) In General- Congress affirms that the authority of the President to use all necessary and appropriate force pursuant to the Authorization for Use
of Military Force (Public Law 107-40) includes the authority for the Armed Forces of the United States to detain covered persons (as defined in
subsection (b)) pending disposition under the law of war.
(b) Covered Persons- A covered person under this section is any person as follows:
(1) A person who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored those responsible
for those attacks.
(2) A person who was a part of or substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the
United States or its coalition partners, including any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities in aid of
such enemy forces.
(c) Disposition Under Law of War- The disposition of a person under the law of war as described in subsection (a) may include the following:
(1) Detention under the law of war without trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force.
(2) Trial under chapter 47A of title 10, United States Code (as amended by the Military Commissions Act of 2009 (title XVIII of Public Law
111-84)).
(3) Transfer for trial by an alternative court or competent tribunal having lawful jurisdiction.
(4) Transfer to the custody or control of the person's country of origin, any other foreign country, or any other foreign entity.
(d) Construction- Nothing in this section is intended to limit or expand the authority of the President or the scope of the Authorization for Use of
Military Force.
(e) Requirement for Briefings of Congress- The Secretary of Defense shall regularly brief Congress regarding the application of the authority
described in this section, including the organizations, entities, and individuals considered to be `covered persons' for purposes of subsection
(b)(2).
Section 1032 - pay attention because this is where the confusion is coming in.
SEC. 1032. REQUIREMENT FOR MILITARY CUSTODY.
(a) Custody Pending Disposition Under Law of War-
(1) IN GENERAL- Except as provided in paragraph (4), the Armed Forces of the United States shall hold a person described in paragraph (2) who is
captured in the course of hostilities authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40) in military custody pending
disposition under the law of war.
(2) COVERED PERSONS- The requirement in paragraph (1) shall apply to any person whose detention is authorized under section 1031 who is
determined--
(A) to be a member of, or part of, al-Qaeda or an associated force that acts in coordination with or pursuant to the direction of al-Qaeda; and
(B) to have participated in the course of planning or carrying out an attack or attempted attack against the United States or its coalition
partners.
(3) DISPOSITION UNDER LAW OF WAR- For purposes of this subsection, the disposition of a person under the law of war has the meaning given in section
1031(c), except that no transfer otherwise described in paragraph (4) of that section shall be made unless consistent with the requirements of section
1033.
(4) WAIVER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY- The Secretary of Defense may, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the Director of National
Intelligence, waive the requirement of paragraph (1) if the Secretary submits to Congress a certification in writing that such a waiver is in the
national security interests of the United States.
(b) Applicability to United States Citizens and Lawful Resident Aliens-
(1) UNITED STATES CITIZENS- The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the
United States.
............................
Emphesis added by me.
I am making a seperate post so it does not get lost in the ongoing discussion.
The sections people are talking about ONLY pertain to NON US CITIZENS.
The Military has NO ability to arrest, detain, hold etc a US citizen.
edit on 29-11-2011 by Xcathdra because: (no reason
given)
edit on 29-11-2011 by Xcathdra because: (no reason given)
edit on 29-11-2011 by Xcathdra because: (no reason
given)