Oppose Government, Lose Citizenship, Go Straight to Gitmo

Barbara H. Peterson
Farm Wars
 
The question of the day is, does the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, nicknamed the Indefinite Detention Bill, actually call for the arrest and indefinite detention of American citizens on American soil? According to Devvy Kidd, it doesn’t:

I don’t seem to be able to find the text in either the final enrolled House or Senate bills that explicitly says U.S. citizens will be indefinitely detained without charge.
Now, I’m not a lawyer, but I have been reading bills from both the state houses and Congress going on two decades. In both bills (House & Senate), I found language that is plain and specific regarding U.S. citizens. In the original bill (S. 1867) here is the section on page 361 which deals with detainees and U.S. citizens:
SEC. 1032. REQUIREMENT FOR MILITARY CUSTODY continues over to page 362:
(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.
Unless I’m missing something, that subprovision says detention by military does not apply to U.S. citizens. Words have meaning in the law and that sentence appears to be easily read. That language remains in the final bill (Enrolled):
Again, page 428 begins section 1032, but here is page 430:
(b) APPLICABILITY TO UNITED STATES CITIZENS AND LAWFUL RESIDENT ALIENS.-
10 (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.
Now over to the House. The full text of the bill passed by the House (Enrolled Bill):
H.R.1540 – National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012
Page 265:
SEC. 1021. AFFIRMATION OF AUTHORITY OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES TO DETAIN COVERED PERSONS PURSUANT TO THE AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE.
(e) AUTHORITIES.-Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect existing law or authorities relating to the detention of United States citizens, lawful resident aliens of the United States, or any other persons who are captured or arrested in the United States.
At this link is the Congressional Record for December 12, 2011, beginning on page H8356; the day after the final vote on House bill 1540. Scroll down to page 81 (H8436) on your screen and see this under Sec. 1022:
SEC. 1022. MILITARY CUSTODY FOR FOREIGN ALQAEDA TERRORISTS.
(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.
(Devvy Kidd)

At first glance, it seems that there is a specific clause which eliminates American citizens from the provisions of the bill. However, consider the following bill that Joe Lieberman and Charles Dent are trying to get through called the Enemy Expatriation Act:

S 1698 A bill to add engaging in or supporting hostilities against the United States to the list of acts for which United States nationals would lose their nationality.
Bill Text:

A BILL
To add engaging in or supporting hostilities against the United States to the list of acts for which United States nationals would lose their nationality.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘Enemy Expatriation Act’.
SEC. 2. LOSS OF NATIONALITY.
(a) In General- Section 349 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1481) is amended–
(1) in subsection (a)–
(A) in each of paragraphs (1) through (6), by striking ‘or’ at the end;
(B) in paragraph (7), by striking the period at the end and inserting ‘; or’; and
(C) by adding at the end the following:
‘(8) engaging in, or purposefully and materially supporting, hostilities against the United States.’; and
(2) by adding at the end the following:
‘(c) For purposes of this section, the term ‘hostilities’ means any conflict subject to the laws of war.’.
(b) Technical Amendment- Section 351(a) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1483(a)) is amended by striking ‘(6) and (7)’ and inserting ‘(6), (7), and (8)’.

Here is a House version link sponsored by Charles Dent.

Who can be deemed as “engaging in, or purposefully and materially supporting hostilities against the United States? You tell me. In 2009, USA Today reported that the government’s “Terrorist Watch List” had no specific rules “for who goes on the list, [and] it’s too bloated to be effective, says Tim Sparapani, a lawyer with the American Civil Liberties Union.” No specific rules for who goes on the list? What? Oh, okay, I get it. Suspicion. That’s all it takes. Boom, on the list you go.

(HOMELAND SECURITY NEWSWIRE) Now a single tip about a terror link will be enough for inclusion in the watch list for U.S. security officials, who have also evolved a quicker system to share the database of potential terrorists among screening agencies.

The master watch list of individuals with suspected links to terrorism is used to screen people seeking to obtain a visa, cross a U.S. border, or board a plane in or destined for the United States. Officials say they have made it easier to add individuals’ names to the watch list and improved the government’s ability to thwart terrorist attacks, the Washington Post reported. (Federal Jack)

So, who is immune from being labeled a potential terrorist? Only the guys at the top. The ones who are setting up the lists. The ones putting the labels on us. And just how far a leap would it take for this list to lead to accusations, expatriation and indefinite detention for American citizens on American soil?

I’m a RACIST for criticizing Obama. I’m a TERRORIST because I’m not afraid to stand up for what’s right. I’m a LIBERAL for supporting the Constitution. I’m a TROUBLEMAKER for asking unanswered questions. I’m a TRAITOR for blowing the whistle on my corrupt government. I’m a CONSPIRACY THEORIST for presenting documented facts. I’m a TROLL for uploading news, videos, quotes and U.S. atrocities. I’m ANTI-AMERICAN for supporting Constitutionalists. Yep, GUILTY! (Guido)

Connecting the Dots

Are you beginning to get the picture? The Indefinite Detention bill does not have to include a specific provision for indefinite detention of American citizens for it to happen. All that needs to happen is for the Enemy Expatriation Act to go through. Remember what Dirty Harry Reid did to get the Food Safety travesty passed? If not, I’ll remind you:

“Then, on the floor of the Senate in the late afternoon, early evening of Sunday, December 19, Senator Reid called the Recycling bill for a vote and there was no objection from the two other Senators who were on the floor. So by unanimous consent HR 2751 was passed. Then Senator Reid moved for reconsideration with the vote to be tabled. This was granted by the same unanimous consent because there was no other Senator on the floor. Then Senator Reid offered without objection amendment number 4890 which substituted S. 510 the Food Safety Bill for the Recycling Bill. Without objection, then the amendment was passed and the Food Safety Bill had been substituted for the Recycling Bill. Reid moved that the bill be read for the third time and asked for the question. Without objection, the bill passed, and the Food Safety Bill was on the way back to the House.” (Fred Kelly Grant)

If history is any indicator, should we expect the provisions of the Enemy Expatriation Act to end up in another bill, and passed by unanimous consent in a one person vote like dirty Harry Reid did? I wouldn’t doubt it for a minute. And if it does, how convenient that these expatriated American “terrorists” can then be subject to Indefinite Detention on American soil.

Tyranny is being implemented in increments, one step at a time, making it difficult to piece together at the time it is happening. One piece of legislation here, another there – links of a chain that when added together on down the road, form the entire unit.

As with everything, a closer look is needed. Add these two bills together – the National Defense Authorization Act and the Enemy Expatriation Act – and American citizens can be stripped of their citizenship, which allows them to fall under the indefinite detention clause. A two-part mix.