Military Could Become Domestic ‘Police Force And Jailer’

The Senate will likely vote this week on a bill which would mandate military custody of suspected terrorists in the United States as well as abroad—legislation that, according to opponents, would restrict executive power and limit the normal role of domestic law enforcement and courts.

The National Defense Authorization Act, which sets the budget of the Department of Defense, is approved by Congress every fiscal year. Critics charge that portions of this year's bill, which was drafted by Senators Carl Levin and John McCain, would expand the areas designated “battlegrounds” in the War on Terror to include the United States—dramatically increasing military jurisdiction.

“While nearly all Americans head to family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving, the Senate is gearing up for a vote on Monday or Tuesday that goes to the very heart of who we are as Americans,” reads a bulletin by the American Civil Liberties Union. “The Senate will be voting on a bill that will direct American military resources not at an enemy shooting at our military in a war zone, but at American citizens and other civilians far from any battlefield—even people in the United States itself.”

If it should pass unamended, the bill sets up a conflict between its advocates and the White House—which threatened Thursday to veto the act because of the detention passages. However, Congressional Democrats remain divided on the controversial legislation.

“Broadly speaking, the detention provisions in this bill micromanage the work of our experienced counterterrorism professionals, including our military commanders, intelligence professionals, seasoned counterterrorism prosecutors, or other operatives in the field,” reads a White House statement [PDF] on this year's Act.

The parts of the legislation that deal with military jurisdiction on United States soil are also opposed by figures including Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, FBI Director Robert Mueller and CIA Director David Patraeus.

According to Salon, the Senate Armed Services Committee consulted with neither the Intelligence nor the Senate Judiciary Committees. Tellingly, both committees have now called on Majority Leader Harry Reid to block the bill until the controversial passages are removed.

Colorado Senator Mark Udall introduced an amendment which would remove the parts of the National Defense Authorization Act relating to detention in the War on Terror pending further discussion–but it was rejected Tuesday in a 60-38 vote, demonstrating a rift in the Democratic Part.

“We are already trying and convicting terrorists in both civilian courts and under military commissions,” said Udall during a committee hearing. “The provisions that are in this bill would require the [Department of Defense] to shift significant resources away from its mission to act on all the fronts all over the world and it would become a police force and jailer.”

Jon Christian is a staff writer with Campus Progress. Follow him on Twitter @Jon_Christian.

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