Stewart Rhodes, Founder & President of Oath Keepers
December 1st, 2011
30 November 2011
Note from Stewart Rhodes
The Senate is very near to passing Senate Bill 1867, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012, which contains provisions that will give clear congressional support and authorization for indefinite military detention and military trial of American citizens. If passed, this will amount to a declaration of war against the American people, authorizing the Obama Administration and all future administrations to treat Americans the same as citizens of occupied Iraq or Afghanistan, subjecting us all to military jurisdiction and the jurisdiction of the international laws of war, rather than our Bill of Rights and our domestic criminal laws, upon the mere say so of Obama or one of his minions.
There is a great deal of confusion about this bill, with some incorrectly interpreting it as not affecting American citizens. There is also confusion about the very dangerous legal precedents that this bill seeks to codify and bolster.
I am writing an in-depth article where I will do my best to clarify both what this bill does, how all three branches of the federal government have worked to impose the international laws of war on the American people, the historical and legal precedents, and just how close we are to losing our Bill of Rights forever. I will send that article out shortly, but please act now to put some serious pressure on your Senators to stop the detention provisions in S. 1867.
Read my 2004 Yale paper, "enemy combatant status" for an an in-depth analysis.
We are now very nearly at the point where all that will save liberty in America is another American Revolution. This bill, if it becomes law, will shove us across that line, placing us in almost exactly the same position our forefathers were in when they were forced to take up arms in defense of their liberty in 1775. If you wish to avoid that, you must stop this bill from becoming law, right now.
- Stewart Rhodes, Founder of Oath Keepers
Download & read the bill from here: Senate Bill 1867 (PDF)
Especially pay attention to Sec. 1031 and 1032 which state Detainee Matters:
Sec.1031. Affirmation of authority of the Armed Forces of the United States to detain covered persons pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military Force.
Sec.1032. Requirement for military custody.
Calendar No. 230
112TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION S. 1867
To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2012 for military activities of
the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense
activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
NOVEMBER 15, 2011
---------------------------------------------
Mr. LEVIN, from the Committee on Armed Services, reported the following
original bill; which was read twice and placed on the calendar
-----------------------------------------------------------
A BILL
To authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2012 for military
activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Depart-
ment of Energy, to prescribe military personnel
strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the "National Defense Au-
thorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012"
(Page 1)
----------------------------------------------------------
(Following are pages 359, line 3 to page 364 line 22.)
SEC. 1031. AFFIRMATION OF AUTHORITY OF THE ARMED
FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES TO DETAIN
COVERED PERSONS PURSUANT TO THE AU-
THORIZATION FOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE.
(a) IN GENERAL.-Congress affirms that the author-
ity of the President to use all necessary and appropriate
force pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military
Force (Public Law 107–40) includes the authority for the
Armed Forces of the United States to detain covered per-
sons (as defined in subsection (b)) pending disposition
under the law of war.
(b) COVERED PERSONS.-A covered person under
this section is any person as follows:
(1) A person who planned, authorized, com-
mitted, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred
on September 11, 2001, or harbored those respon-
sible for those attacks.
(2) A person who was a part of or substantially
supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces
that are engaged in hostilities against the United
States or its coalition partners, including any person
who has committed a belligerent act or has directly
360
supported such hostilities in aid of such enemy
forces.
(c) DISPOSITION UNDER LAW OF WAR.-The dis-
position of a person under the law of war as described
in subsection (a) may include the following:
(1) Detention under the law of war without
trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the
Authorization for Use of Military Force.
(2) Trial under chapter 47A of title 10, United
States Code (as amended by the Military Commis-
sions Act of 2009 (title XVIII of Public Law 111–
84)).
(3) Transfer for trial by an alternative court or
competent tribunal having lawful jurisdiction.
(4) Transfer to the custody or control of the
person’s country of origin, any other foreign coun-
try, or any other foreign entity.
(d) CONSTRUCTION.-Nothing in this section is in-
tended to limit or expand the authority of the President
or the scope of the Authorization for Use of Military
Force.
(e) REQUIREMENT FOR BRIEFINGS OF CONGRESS.-
The Secretary of Defense shall regularly brief Congress
regarding the application of the authority described in this
section, including the organizations, entities, and individ-
361
uals considered to be ‘‘covered persons’’ for purposes of
subsection (b)(2).
SEC. 1032. REQUIREMENT FOR MILITARY CUSTODY.
(a) CUSTODY PENDING DISPOSITION UNDER LAW
OF WAR.-
(1) IN GENERAL.-Except as provided in para-
graph (4), the Armed Forces of the United States
shall hold a person described in paragraph (2) who
is captured in the course of hostilities authorized by
the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public
Law 107–40) in military custody pending disposition
under the law of war.
(2) COVERED PERSONS.-The requirement in
paragraph (1) shall apply to any person whose de-
tention is authorized under section 1031 who is de-
terminedญ
(A) to be a member of, or part of, al-
Qaeda or an associated force that acts in co-
ordination with or pursuant to the direction of
al-Qaeda; and
(B) to have participated in the course of
planning or carrying out an attack or attempted
attack against the United States or its coalition
partners.
362
(3) DISPOSITION UNDER LAW OF WAR.-For
purposes of this subsection, the disposition of a per-
son under the law of war has the meaning given in
section 1031(c), except that no transfer otherwise
described in paragraph (4) of that section shall be
made unless consistent with the requirements of sec-
tion 1033.
(4) WAIVER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY.-The
Secretary of Defense may, in consultation with the
Secretary of State and the Director of National In-
telligence, waive the requirement of paragraph (1) if
the Secretary submits to Congress a certification in
writing that such a waiver is in the national security
interests of the United States.
(b) APPLICABILITY TO UNITED STATES CITIZENS
AND LAWFUL RESIDENT ALIENS.-
(1) UNITED STATES CITIZENS.-The require-
ment to detain a person in military custody under
this section does not extend to citizens of the United
States.
(2) LAWFUL RESIDENT ALIENS.-The require-
ment to detain a person in military custody under
this section does not extend to a lawful resident
alien of the United States on the basis of conduct
taking place within the United States, except to the
363
extent permitted by the Constitution of the United
States.
(c) IMPLEMENTATION PROCEDURES.-
(1) IN GENERAL.-Not later than 60 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, the President
shall issue, and submit to Congress, procedures for
implementing this section.
(2) ELEMENTS.-The procedures for imple-
menting this section shall include, but not be limited
to, procedures as follows:
(A) Procedures designating the persons au-
thorized to make determinations under sub-
section (a)(2) and the process by which such
determinations are to be made.
(B) Procedures providing that the require-
ment for military custody under subsection
(a)(1) does not require the interruption of ongo-
ing surveillance or intelligence gathering with
regard to persons not already in the custody or
control of the United States.
(C) Procedures providing that a determina-
tion under subsection (a)(2) is not required to
be implemented until after the conclusion of an
interrogation session which is ongoing at the
time the determination is made and does not
364
require the interruption of any such ongoing
session.
(D) Procedures providing that the require-
ment for military custody under subsection
(a)(1) does not apply when intelligence, law en-
forcement, or other government officials of the
United States are granted access to an indi-
vidual who remains in the custody of a third
country.
(E) Procedures providing that a certifi-
cation of national security interests under sub-
section (a)(4) may be granted for the purpose
of transferring a covered person from a third
country if such a transfer is in the interest of
the United States and could not otherwise be
accomplished.
(d) EFFECTIVE DATE.-This section shall take effect
on the date that is 60 days after the date of the enactment
of this Act, and shall apply with respect to persons de-
scribed in subsection (a)(2) who are taken into the custody
or brought under the control of the United States on or
after that effective date.
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