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Obama will bypass Congress to detain suspects indefinitely
John Byrne
Raw Story
Thursday, Sept 24th, 2009
President Barack Obama has quietly decided to bypass Congress and allow the indefinite detention of terrorist suspects without charges.
The move, which was controversial when the idea was first floated in The Washington Post in May, has sparked serious concern among civil liberties advocates. Such a decision allows the president to unilaterally hold “combatants” without habeas corpus — a legal term literally meaning “you shall have the body” — which forces prosecutors to charge a suspect with a crime to justify the suspect’s detention.
Obama’s decision was buried on page A 23 of The New York Times’ New York edition on Thursday. It didn’t appear on that page in the national edition. (Meanwhile, the front page was graced with the story, “Richest Russian’s Newest Toy: An N.B.A. Team.”)
Rather than seek approval from Congress to hold some 50 Guantanamo detainees indefinitely, the administration has decided that it has the authority to hold the prisoners under broad-ranging legislation passed in the wake of Sept. 11, 2001. Former President George W. Bush frequently invoked this legislation as the justification for controversial legal actions — including the NSA’s warrantless wiretapping program.
“The administration will continue to hold the detainees without bringing them to trial based on the power it says it has under the Congressional resolution passed after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, authorizing the president to use force against forces of Al Qaeda and the Taliban,” the Times‘ Peter Baker writes. “In concluding that it does not need specific permission from Congress to hold detainees without charges, the Obama administration is adopting one of the arguments advanced by the Bush administration in years of debates about detention policies.”
Constitutional scholar and Salon.com columnist Glenn Greenwald discussed the policy in a column in May. He warned that the ability for a president to “preventively” detain suspects could mushroom into broader, potentially abusive activity.
“It does not merely allow the U.S. Government to imprison people alleged to have committed Terrorist acts yet who are unable to be convicted in a civilian court proceeding,” Greenwald wrote. “That class is merely a subset, perhaps a small subset, of who the Government can detain. Far more significant, ‘preventive detention’ allows indefinite imprisonment not based on proven crimes or past violations of law, but of those deemed generally ‘dangerous’ by the Government for various reasons (such as, as Obama put it yesterday, they ‘expressed their allegiance to Osama bin Laden’ or ‘otherwise made it clear that they want to kill Americans’). That’s what ‘preventive’ means: imprisoning people because the Government claims they are likely to engage in violent acts in the future because they are alleged to be ‘combatants.’”
“Once known, the details of the proposal could — and likely will — make this even more extreme by extending the ‘preventive detention’ power beyond a handful of Guantanamo detainees to anyone, anywhere in the world, alleged to be a ‘combatant,’” Greenwald continues. “After all, once you accept the rationale on which this proposal is based — namely, that the U.S. Government must, in order to keep us safe, preventively detain “dangerous” people even when they can’t prove they violated any laws — there’s no coherent reason whatsoever to limit that power to people already at Guantanamo, as opposed to indefinitely imprisoning with no trials all allegedly ‘dangerous’ combatants, whether located in Pakistan, Thailand, Indonesia, Western countries and even the U.S.”
The Obama Administration appears to have embraced “preventive detention” in part because of problems with how Guantanamo prisoners’ cases — and incarceration — were handled under President Bush. Military prosecutors have said that numerous cases could not be brought successfully in civilian courts because evidence was obtained in ways that wouldn’t be admissible on US soil. The Bush Administration originally sought to try numerous detainees in military tribunals, but the Supreme Court ruled that at least some have the rights to challenge their detention in US courts.
Baker notes that Obama’s decision to hold suspects without charges doesn’t propose as broad an executive authority claimed by President Bush.
“Obama’s advisers are not embracing the more disputed Bush contention that the president has inherent power under the Constitution to detain terrorism suspects indefinitely regardless of Congress,” Baker writes.
In a statement to Baker, the Justice Department said, “The administration would rely on authority already provided by Congress [and] is not currently seeking additional authorization.”
“The position conveyed by the Justice Department in the meeting last week broke no new ground and was entirely consistent with information previously provided by the Justice Department to the Senate Armed Services Committee,” the statement added.
Roughly 50 detainees of the more than 200 still held at the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are thought to be affected by the decision.
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34 Responses to “Obama will bypass Congress to detain suspects indefinitely”
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September 24th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Who will define what a “terrorist” is?
Is it anybody Oh Bama says it is?
This doesn’t quite get it with me!!
My Proofreader Died Of Swine Flu Reply:
September 24th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Well we’re already defined as terrorist by Obama’s people.
Hologram5 Reply:
September 24th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
You are correct, anyone that protests anything is considered a terrorist in Pelosi’s eyes. She is such an ignorant bitch.
apostle #13 Reply:
September 24th, 2009 at 8:54 pm
Obama has bypassed the Constitution to become Sec. General of the UNSC.
Obama will bypass Congress to enact his Healthcare Reform.
Obama will bypass the Congress OR the Constitution whenever he pleases, because Obama does not recognize the existence of the United States.
In the mind of Obama, we are all just some nasty gooey unknown mass that attached itself to the Presidential Shoe, and must be scraped off and avoided.
Londoner Reply:
September 24th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
Sec. 802 of the USA PATRIOT Act. See USC Title 18 § 2331 para 5:
(5) the term “domestic terrorism” means activities that—
(A) involve acts dangerous to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or of any State;
(B) appear to be intended—
(i) to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;
(ii) to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion; or
(iii) to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping; and
(C) occur primarily within the territorial jurisdiction of the United States.
Matzo Man Reply:
September 25th, 2009 at 6:57 am
Ah yes. But the concept here is “preventive detention.”
USWGO Master Brian Hill Reply:
September 25th, 2009 at 9:48 am
My latest video attacking the facts that poisonous vaccines is our only way out of the swine flu scare, is my latest video where I have not taken the vaccine in years and never got the flu in those times and the times I did take the flu shot I got very sick sometimes it got real bad.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zET_0AOW-xw
In my next video I am telling people that time is running out to peacefully resist the NWO:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaCoDR8_FBI
and heres the last video I am sharing on this article reshowing a classic good video of Alex Jones singing as Kid Rock on Warrior:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZBqtCiVee4
September 24th, 2009 at 11:10 am
LOOK… George Bush really DID get re-elected. He just dresses up as Obama every morning before work. We would know his actions anywhere.
What a sad case it is for Obama. He isn’t qualified to be president, so he will just try to immitate gwb since he can’t seem to come up with any ideas of his own.
deracinateNWO Reply:
September 24th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Obama and Bush and Clinton and Bush not so much Reagan (he had lost his mind before he became president) all work for the same Master…… probably Rothschild, they all systematically dismantled the regulation of the economy. implemented Eugenic policies. all of them and it goes back farther ….. once in a wile we would get a People President/that does not happen anymore. their highest achievement politically Obama.
Jim Shores Reply:
September 25th, 2009 at 6:12 am
George Bush #2 used the same chemicals Michael Jackson used to lighten. He used the total tan formula. SAVE OUR TUSHS DUMP THE GEORGE BUSHS.
September 24th, 2009 at 11:14 am
Yeah, isn’t this what you call ‘blackface’?
September 24th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
The question that has always baffled me is why? Why hold these people if some are supposedly innocent. Why hold them when you clearly have evidence of criminal wrong doing and can easily obtain a conviction. Why?
Unless there is something being hidden by this and the last admin, there should be no reason to hold anyone without charge. Possibly something going back to 9/11 or other events. Possibly the implications of the CIA being involved in terrorist activities.
September 24th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Uncle Tom & Black Bush all-in-one
Protect the 9/11 cover story at all cost…
Quinny Reply:
September 24th, 2009 at 11:42 pm
GKPN,
Exactly. When you can’t kill ALL of the “Oswalds” you
can just lock them up and throw away the key….
September 24th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
People, people why are you asking the president these questions? He’s a figure head, he doesn’t really get to decide issues like this, in this day and age. It like asking these a a secretary of a company about the why company policy. If if they did know they probably where told no to tell you and couldn’t change it even if you convienced them to.
September 24th, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Of course he did. Did anyone really think that he wouldn’t? Gitmo is the torture building. And they have more overseas.
September 24th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
I hope that means Cheney will be sent to Gitmo.
Global Harming Reply:
September 25th, 2009 at 4:27 am
I’d prefer an ‘ol fashion public hanging.
September 24th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
The President keeps trying his seat of Power more and more here. to sidestep Congress is only asking for an end to American Values….http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Posse_Comitatus_Act
Things are happening around this country at an alarming rate lately. WHY does man keep thinking he can control what happens in this world and lifetime? Has he forgot GOD won’t just lay idly by and allow greed and power to some men, to ruin what he made or created in the first place? Dictatorship is never going to work in these United States! When your pushed against the wall long enough your going to come out with lashing teeth. I don’t think these Bankers want to be strung up By there Balls! Greed has ALWAYS been won over by Peace and HONOR. To ruin what GOD created is Mortal. That is even our lives and how we live them. God Gave every man and woman that right to protect and stand up for TRUTH and to Honor God in our own ways. Not to allow us to..Is Dishonor! I don’t think anyone intelligent enough wants to Dishonor GOD because he has the Last Word in all of this! Even SATAN can not control what happens on Earth any longer. Why he uses Man to do his Dirty Work. Many of our Leaders are showing there REAL COLORS! But they will all see and meet the Seven Headed Dragons.
September 24th, 2009 at 1:33 pm
If you want to be free, there is but one way, it is to guarantee an equally full measure of liberty to all your neighbors. There is no other. Peace
September 24th, 2009 at 1:34 pm
Above was a quote fro Carl Schurz.
September 24th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Eventually when Obama and his ilk are brought to justice, they’ll get fair treatment-
They should keep that in mind-
September 24th, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Obamaburg said he was going to renegotiate NAFTA too have not heard on that one
September 24th, 2009 at 3:02 pm
So pretty much habaeus corpus is still suspended. What else is new? Pretty much if you have to use illegal means to apprehend someone, it is more often then not they didn’t do a crime to begin with. Just like after 9/11, the so called terrorist could have already been apprehended by FBI who are on record of already having a lead on them and close to making an apprehension if they were given the go-ahead. But like everything else, they’re investigation was stalled.
September 24th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
‘Preventitive’ detention is to keep the US safe!
How about, the US use preventitive detention and place the US administration and Congress into custody, so that the rest of us in the world can be safe? Sounds good to me!
September 24th, 2009 at 6:55 pm
This is awful, and enough is enough. It is time for all of us millions and millions of fine people to speak out and make it clear to Barkey/Barry/Obama that it is time for him to back down as well as shut mouth and listen to We the People!
September 24th, 2009 at 7:35 pm
If he would just legalize weed already then I could get behind him.
Quinny Reply:
September 24th, 2009 at 11:47 pm
When you don’t have a job, how are you going to pay for it?
September 24th, 2009 at 8:03 pm
How long will it be until US Citizens are being declared ‘domestic terrorists’ and shipped off to Guantanemo for an indefinite detention, on the basis of doing things like protesting the G-20 for example, or carrying overly agressively worded plackards at rallys ?
The Fascist Tyrrany State is quickly arriving.
This is much worse in many ways than when we were protesting the Vietnam War, and we thought it was really bad then, what the Establishment was doing in response to our protests and demonstrations.
I ordered Webster Tarpley’s in-press newest book that is due out in December or thereabouts, “Against Oligarchy”. It looks to be dynamite !!!
http://www.tarpley.net/29crash.htm
The above excerpt from it is a fascinating read of history, and a side of history that we don’t get to hear about, as the ‘powers that be’ keep it hidden away, knowing that if we knew about it, we’d do something about it.
Here’s to doing something about it !!
September 24th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
Folks, we shouldn’t get mad about this. Remember, our leader Glenn Beck is for detaining people indefinitely and without due process. Let’s go expose ACORN or something..leave the patriot act, torture and the globalists alone.
September 25th, 2009 at 2:45 am
fuck obama!!! wot is any 1 gunna do about this shit,fuck the talk talk!! ready wen u r!!
September 25th, 2009 at 3:40 am
WHAT CAN BE DONE TO STOP THIS?
September 25th, 2009 at 7:05 am
“preventive detention”
The concept is interesting and implies to me that these people they are incarcerating are mentally ill. But that diagnosis would have to be certified by a doctor (not that this is difficult for them to do).
Barring that they should be REQUIRED to either charge them with something and have a “speedy trial” or release them.
And don’t forget that there are other prisons in Afghanistan where children are raped daily.
September 26th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
The government is terrorizing the people all the time- so is the irs. So……………
I’m sick and tired of hearing words like “Terrorist, Environment, Global warming, Green, Bio, Bring them to Justice- that I could throw up. It’s all BS.
Let’s use common sense and a little self control to get where we want to be.
I’m not afraid of Terrorists, or any of the others- they are just being used to take over our country. I’m fearing the government more- they are the villians here that destroyed our economy and country.