American citizens may now be sent to Guantanamo, indefinitely, without trial
Since President Obama performed a policy U-turn, and agreed to enshrine indefinite detention into law, journalists, politicians, civil rights organizations and the blogosphere have taken up arms and lit the debate alight.
The provision, contained within the defense authorization bill, extends the battlefield in the “war on terror” to American citizens, on U.S. soil. And it applies the established principle that combatants in any war are subject to military detention.
Libertarian Paul Rand has been the central spokesman for the opposition, arguing most eloquently, that “Detaining citizens without a court trial is not American”, Rand argued, and if the law passes “the terrorists have won”.
Here is a round-up of the best information and opinion pieces so far:
Obama to sign indefinite detention bill into law, and Three myths about the detention bill, Glenn Greenwald, (salon.com)
‘The Rule of Law’ = Indefinite Detention Powers, Jacob Sullum, (reason.com)
Military given go-ahead to detain US terrorist suspects without trial, Chris McGreal, (guardian.co.uk)
Reject Indefinite Detention; Defend the Constitution, Rep. Hank Johnson, (huffingtonpost.com)
Politics Over Principle, (nytimes.com)
Obama Caves Again on Civil Liberties, Andrew Sullivan, (andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com)
