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Civil liberties groups call on Obama to veto defense bill
Human rights and civil liberties advocates are calling on President Obama to veto the Defense authorization bill over concerns about U.S. citizens being detained indefinitely.
While the president’s veto threat — on which he has not yet indicated whether he’ll follow through — is focused on the bill tying law enforcement’s hands in the investigation, prosecution and detention of terror suspects — advocacy groups are pushing for him to veto because of the bill’s indefinite military detention provisions.
The congressional conference committee completed work on the Defense bill Monday, and it will likely receive a final House and Senate vote this week, which has prompted the renewed calls for a veto.
Two retired Marine generals, Charles Krulak and Joseph Hoar, who have worked with Human Rights First to fight the legislation, wrote a New York Times op-ed on Tuesday titled “Guantánamo Forever?”
“One provision would authorize the military to indefinitely detain without charge people suspected of involvement with terrorism, including United States citizens apprehended on American soil,” they wrote. “Due process would be a thing of the past.”
Chris Anders, senior legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union, said: “Based on suspicion alone, no place and no person is off-limits to military detention without charge or trial … President Obama should get his veto pen ready for this dangerous bill.”
Critics of the legislation say the proposal allows the military to capture prosecute U.S. citizens and terror suspects on U.S. soil. But supporters argue the Supreme Court already allows U.S. citizens to be considered enemy combatants, citing the 2004 Hamdi vs. Rumsfeld case.
An amendment was added at the last minute to the Senate’s bill that said the legislation did not change current law regarding U.S. citizens or those captured on American soil. Senators have said the courts will ultimately decide the issue.
The difference in objections from the Obama administration and civil liberties groups was not lost on comedian Jon Stewart, who zinged the White House in a lengthy “Daily Show” segment on the detention policy last week.
