Unlimited military detention of American citizens...

By Gary D. Barnett

I recently wrote an article about this atrocious piece of legislation, (S-1867) but at that time, it had not made it through the House of Representatives, and Obama had pledged to veto it upon its arrival to his desk. It is no surprise that the dishonest Obama lied again, but it is telling that both the House of Representatives and the Senate passed this overwhelmingly. These are the same "representatives" that most of the lemmings in this country believe protect their interests, but the opposite of course is the case.

It is difficult to put into words just how absolutely obnoxious this anti-freedom monstrosity is, and it is even more difficult to imagine the future consequences of this heinous law. How on earth can this be allowed to happen? If this stands, we can openly admit that we are now in an executive dictatorship.

When any American can be "legally" apprehended by the military, held indefinitely without the benefit of any due process, be shipped off to hidden prisons or concentration camps, and tortured or worse, what have we become? What have the people become when they sit idly by and let this go forward without complete and total resistance? They have become slaves to the state, and they have become slaves voluntarily!

There are many attempting to refute the fact that the military has the authorization to indefinitely hold American citizens, but it is very clear that under this piece of legislation, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, the military can do just that. While the bill is filled with many deplorable aspects, mostly ignored I might add, the detention language is clear. Glenn Greenwald of Salon explains the myths concerning the detention portion of this bill in his brilliant article: "Three myths about the detention bill."

There is not a lot more that one can say about this new law, because it is the finishing nail in the proverbial coffin of totalitarianism. When any American on the say so of the executive branch of government can be "legally" captured by the military and held indefinitely, and without charge or trial, then the state has won.

Who will the government thugs target first? They will target those who are willing to stand up to them. They will target those who expose the corruption and lies that are ever present in the political arena. They will target writers of truth. They will target protesters, and all those who actively dissent. They will target those who expose the state propaganda for what it truly is...

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