Belligerent

Here's something from a newsletter I received.

This is about Sections 1031 and 1032 in a defense spending bill. We have posted these sections on our blog so you can read them for yourself.

The two sections seem to contradict each other. Some people, including some Senators, think that Section 1032 exempts Americans. But a more accurate rendering goes like this . . .

According to Section 1032, the military cannot indefinitely imprison citizens and legal resident aliens. But that doesn't mean some other law enforcement agency couldn't eternally jail citizens and resident aliens, because of the vague wording of Section 1031. How vague?

Section 1031(b)(2) "includ(es) ANY PERSON who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities in aid of such enemy forces."

What is a belligerent act? There have been more than 40 cases of alleged terrorist plots that were little more than entrapment, and not actual threats to the American people. The way we read it ANY of these entrapped people, AS WELL AS completely innocent people associated with them, could potentially be imprisoned without due process because of the vagueness of Section 1031. And Section 1032 has NOTHING to do with this, because it only deals with military custody.

Here's the thought to take away from this -- 1032 says the military can't kidnap citizens, but Section 1031 opens the door for other federal agencies to do so.

But even the supposed exemption from military detention isn't so clear cut. If a citizen or resident alien is arrested by the military, he or she may have great difficulty proving that they are a citizen or legal resident alien, because the habeas corpus burden on the military is weak, or perhaps non-existent.

It’s even more problematic that this bill was explicitly designed to permit the military to play a police function on American soil, even if it is only to arrest and hold alleged foreign "belligerents."

This is how we analyze the proposed legislation. But Senator McCain, one of the authors of this mess, goes even further. Consider the following exchange between him and Senator Rand Paul from the Senate floor . . .

MR. PAUL: My question would be, under the provisions, would it be possible that an American citizen could be declared an 'enemy combatant' and sent to Guantanamo Bay, and detained indefinitely?

MR. McCAIN: I think that as long as that individual, NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE, if they POSE A THREAT to the security of the United States of America, should not be allowed to continue the threat.

Our assessment is conservative compared to Mr. McCain's interpretation. Even so . . .

NONE OF THIS REALLY MATTERS.

What really matters is what people in the future will do with this law once it has passed. This consideration should make you very afraid. After all, just look at how closely your so-called government follows the Constitution, the supposed Supreme Law of the Land. They have taken every loophole or loose interpretation they could find and driven a freight train through it. And most of the rest they have simply ignored.