By an overwhelming 86-13 margin, the
U.S. Senate passed the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act
following a similar 283-136 vote in the House of Representatives the
following day. Although an NDAA has been passed
yearly for the last 48 years to sustain the enormous Pentagon budget,
this bill is particularly controversial because it includes
provisions that allow for the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens.
President Obama signed the bill on Dec. 31.
The bill affirms “the authority for
the Armed Forces of the United States to detain covered persons …
pending disposition under the law of war [i.e.,
indefinitely and without trial]”. The act goes on to define
“covered persons” as a “person who was a part of or
substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces …
including any person who has committed a belligerent act.”
The language in this section is vague
enough that it could be interpreted as authorizing extreme forms of
repression against a wide range of political opponents of the U.S.
government. It is up to the president to determine what “associated
forces” are and what constitutes a “belligerent act.”
In light of recent coordinated FBI
raids against anti-war activists and massive police repression
against the Occupy movement, it is conceivable that simply going to
or organizing a demonstration could be considered “belligerent.”
The especially severe government harassment Arab and Muslim
communities have faced since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks will
likely intensify as a result of this bill.
Because “covered persons” who are
detained for these “belligerent acts” will be stripped of all
rights by the 2012 NDAA, there is absolutely no due process to
confirm or refute the validity of the government’s accusations. The
2012 NDAA is a direct violation of the legal principle of innocent
until proven guilty.
Despite the extreme measures the act
contains, it enjoyed a striking level of bipartisan support. Voting
in favor were 45 Democratic and 41 Republican senators with just six
Democrats, six Republicans and one independent opposed. President
Obama voiced initial opposition to the bill but later decided that he
would sign it into law. Although the Democrats attempt to portray
themselves as friends of working people during election season, their
support for the 2012 NDAA further confirms their fundamental loyalty
to doing whatever is necessary to preserve the stability of the
capitalist system.
The NDAA is also
further evidence that oppression at home and imperialist war abroad
are directly connected. Indefinite detention was first approved by
the Authorization of the Use of Military Force resolution that was
passed just days after the Sept. 11 attacks, at the onset
of the wave of racist and national chauvinist hysteria that was used
to justify the invasion of Afghanistan a few weeks later. The same
logic of an omnipresent enemy and an endless war was invoked as a
rationale for the 2012 NDAA, which gives the indefinite detention of
U.S. citizens official legislative sanction.
The timing of this egregious violation
of basic democratic rights is tied in with the destabilization of the
global capitalist economy and the growing fight back movement
emerging domestically and around the world. At a time when their
system is experiencing both severe economic stagnation and a
political crisis of legitimacy, the U.S. capitalist class is
preparing to defend its power by readying new tools of repression.
The struggle against laws like the 2012 NDAA is an essential part of
the broader movement for the liberation of the 99 percent.
