The Senate recently passed the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2012, voting 93-7. If approved by the House, NDAA will give the military power to detain individuals — including U.S. citizens — indefinitely without a trial. But this should not be allowed to happen.
If the NDAA were to pass, the right to a fair trial would be damaged. It is true that the act applies only to those suspected of terrorism, but because there is no due process after detainment there would be no way to prove your innocence if you were wrongly accused. Under NDAA a suspect can be held with no trial for as long as desired. This would give the military power to undercut police forces and the Department of Justice.
The American Civil Liberties Union has made statements about the bill, saying “all state and federal law enforcement would be preempted by the military.” The ACLU also points out loopholes in the bill, which would extend military jurisdiction to civilians in the United States who would otherwise be outside of military control.
Perhaps what is more puzzling than the bill itself is that the media has only narrowly covered this topic. Of course, the most recent Herman Cain scandal is probably more important than the corrosion of civil liberty.
This could be because some do not see anything wrong with extending this power to the military in pursuit of the famous war on terror. There are also arguments that giving this power to the military would not change anything for a vast majority people. Although this could be the case, it is not something to gamble on.
Civil liberties have continually been degraded by legislation since the establishment of our government, and post 9/11 we have continued to move away from civil liberties. Immediately after 9/11 the PATRIOT Act was passed, which single-handedly diminished Americans’ right to privacy and expanded police power far beyond reasonable measure. The PATRIOT Act was passed based on the grounds that a stronger police force was needed to crack down on terrorism. If NDAA passes this power will be extended to the military as well. So while this might seem like a small step, it is still a step toward a military state.
So if you like the right to a fair trial — or at least the option to one — then write your representatives and ask them to vote down NDAA. Or go online to do some research and educate yourself on this issue. Regardless of the reasons for NDAA, the military should not have this power.