Senate Bill S 1867, National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012

This Bill is 680 pages long, but the section of greatest concern is section 1031.  Please read it.  I have listed sections 1031 and 1032 in order to show the contrast between the two.  In section 1032 there is an exemption for US citizens and Resident Aliens, however, this same exemption does not apply to section 1031.  It is easy to read section 1031 thinking that you are not one of those people, so there is no need to worry.  You may even agree that people who engage in the terrorist activities described deserve the measures taken.  However, ask yourself who gets to make the decision whether a person falls into this category or not?  The individual described in this section has not been tried and found guilty and then submitted to the detention described.  Anyone (including US citizens) suspected of these acts can be detained indefinitely without a trial.  Do you have enough faith in the government that innocent citizens won't be apprehended?  Can you live with the fact that they could be locked away indefinitely without charges or a trial if they are?  This section is an egregious attack on the liberties of US citizens and I hope enough people will voice their disapproval to at least have the same exemption as section 1032 amended to section 1031.  There is enough fodder already for us to be dissatisfied with our legislators, do we really want to add a removal of our liberties to that list?

Pg. 359

3 Subtitle D—Detainee Matters

4 SEC. 1031. AFFIRMATION OF AUTHORITY OF THE ARMED

5          FORCES OF THE UNITED STATES TO DETAIN

6          COVERED PERSONS PURSUANT TO THE AU-

7             THORIZATIONFOR USE OF MILITARY FORCE.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Congress affirms that the author-

9 ity of the President to use all necessary and appropriate

10 force pursuant to the Authorization for Use of Military

11 Force (Public Law 107–40) includes the authority for the

12 Armed Forces of the United States to detain covered per-

13 sons (as defined in subsection (b)) pending disposition

14 under the law of war.

15 (b) COVERED PERSONS.—A covered person under

16 this section is any person as follows:

17 (1) A person who planned, authorized, com-

18 mitted, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred

19 on September 11, 2001, or harbored those respon-

20 sible for those attacks.

21 (2) A person who was a part of or substantially

22 supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces

23 that are engaged in hostilities against the United

24 States or its coalition partners, including any person

25 who has committed a belligerent act or has directly

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•S 1867 PCS

1 supported such hostilities in aid of such enemy

2 forces.

3 (c) DISPOSITION UNDER LAW OF WAR.—The dis-

4 position of a person under the law of war as described

5 in subsection (a) may include the following:

6 (1) Detention under the law of war without

7 trial until the end of the hostilities authorized by the

8 Authorization for Use of Military Force.

9 (2) Trial under chapter 47A of title 10, United

10 States Code (as amended by the Military Commis-

11 sions Act of 2009 (title XVIII of Public Law 111–

12 84)).

13 (3) Transfer for trial by an alternative court or

14 competent tribunal having lawful jurisdiction.

15 (4) Transfer to the custody or control of the

16 person’s country of origin, any other foreign coun-

17 try, or any other foreign entity.

18 (d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this section is in-

19 tended to limit or expand the authority of the President

20 or the scope of the Authorization for Use of Military

21 Force.

22 (e) REQUIREMENT FOR BRIEFINGS OF CONGRESS.—

23 The Secretary of Defense shall regularly brief Congress

24 regarding the application of the authority described in this

25 section, including the organizations, entities, and individ-

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•S 1867 PCS

1 uals considered to be ‘‘covered persons’’ for purposes of

2 subsection (b)(2).

3 SEC. 1032. REQUIREMENT FOR MILITARY CUSTODY.

4 (a) CUSTODY PENDING DISPOSITION UNDER LAW OF

5 WAR.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-

7 graph (4), the Armed Forces of the United States

8 shall hold a person described in paragraph (2) who

9 is captured in the course of hostilities authorized by

10 the Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public

11 Law 107–40) in military custody pending disposition

12 under the law of war.

13 (2) COVERED PERSONS.—The requirement in

14 paragraph (1) shall apply to any person whose de-

15 tention is authorized under section 1031 who is de-

16 termined—

17 (A) to be a member of, or part of, al-

18 Qaeda or an associated force that acts in co-

19 ordination with or pursuant to the direction of

20 al-Qaeda; and

21 (B) to have participated in the course of

22 planning or carrying out an attack or attempted

23 attack against the United States or its coalition

24 partners.

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•S 1867 PCS

1 (3) DISPOSITION UNDER LAW OF WAR.—For

2 purposes of this subsection, the disposition of a per-

3 son under the law of war has the meaning given in

4 section 1031(c), except that no transfer otherwise

5 described in paragraph (4) of that section shall be

6 made unless consistent with the requirements of sec-

7 tion 1033.

8 (4) WAIVER FOR NATIONAL SECURITY.—The

9 Secretary of Defense may, in consultation with the

10 Secretary of State and the Director of National In-

11 telligence, waive the requirement of paragraph (1) if

12 the Secretary submits to Congress a certification in

13 writing that such a waiver is in the national security

14 interests of the United States.

15 (b) APPLICABILITY TO UNITED STATES CITIZENS

16 AND LAWFUL RESIDENT ALIENS.—

17 (1) UNITED STATES CITIZENS.—The require-

18 ment to detain a person in military custody under

19 this section does not extend to citizens of the United

20 States.

21 (2) LAWFUL RESIDENT ALIENS.—The require-

22 ment to detain a person in military custody under

23 this section does not extend to a lawful resident

24 alien of the United States on the basis of conduct

25 taking place within the United States, except to the

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•S 1867 PCS

1 extent permitted by the Constitution of the United

2 States.


Contact your Senators and your Representatives and urge them to amend section 1031 to include an exemption for US citizens and legal Resident Aliens.

The Death of Muammar al-Qadhafi

It has been a while since I have written a post and I felt that it was time to at least submit something.  For the next few weeks, I will try to post links to articles that I feel are important regarding current events in the Middle East and North Africa.  Obviously, the news that the rebel forces of Libya captured and killed the more than four decades long dictator, Muammar al-Qadhafi, is very important news.  I do not have the time to put in a lot of thought or give a detailed analysis of the situation and for the next few weeks that will be the same for all of my posts, but I hope you will follow the links I provide and inform yourseves of the major events that are affecting the region and will also affect the US and its involvement.

I will say a few quick things.  I hope that the new Libyan government is stabilized quickly with free and open elections.  The military forces of the rebellion will probably want to be a part of the governing body at first in order to provide stability, but it is clear from the situation in Egypt that the military does not provide stability when it is a part of the governing body, but it inflicts martial law on the people and becomes an entity that oppresses the voices and actions of the people because it wants to demonstrate who has the power.  Egypt had a peaceful revolution to depose Hosni Mubarak, but the military has almost crushed the spirit of the people with its brutal attacks and its fabricated stories in an attempt to maintain the sectarianism between the Muslims and the Copts.  I don't think all is lost in Egypt, but the military needs to be removed soon from its control before it reverts into the same nation the people sought to change.  Because Egypt slipped so easily back into a militarized situation, I fear that the same thing will happen in Libya, especially since their regime change came through armed conflict.  It will be vital to watch the developments in Libya in the coming weeks in order to see in what direction the new Libya will go.

Here is a link to an article from the New York Times about the circumstances surrounding the death of Muammar al-Qadhafi.

The Lost Lessons of 9/11

Today is a day that most people in America are commemorating, because it is the tenth anniversary of the devastating and destructive attacks on the World Trade Center Twin Towers.  There were people from over 100 nations that lost their lives during this attack, and therefore there are many around the world who are also caught up in the memories that this day brings forth.  The events of 11 September 2001 will forever be etched in the annals of history and in the minds of the citizens of the world.

I was not in the United States on this beautiful September morning when the skies of New York City changed in an instant from blue to black, gray, and white.  I was in Switzerland at the time and was oblivious to the events until a friend showed me the news on the television.  I remember looking at the footage of the the planes flying into the towers and the swift and awful collapse of each one.  I almost could not believe what I was watching.  It was as if we had turned on a movie starring Bruce Willis or some other actor whose movies have more explosions than dialogue.  After the initial shock and the wiping of tears, I was surprised how personally attacked I felt.  I am not aware of having lost anyone whom I knew personally in this tragedy, but these events transcended the microcosms of our everyday lives and brought us into a far larger family of nation.  Every soul lost was not just someone's son, daughter, father, mother, husband or wife, but they instantly became the faces of our own friends and families.  We were brought together as a nation, because we faced such an unthinkable disaster together.

Many heroes showed their faces that day and not all of them survived, because they were willing to put the safety and security of others before themselves.  I unfortunately cannot write from a firsthand perspective about how 9/11 and the endless stories of heroism helped to unite our country, but I heard from my family and friends that there was a definite change.  People were nicer to each other and willing to express their love for each other more easily.  These are the things that I hope we remember and never forget about 11 September 2001.

Lamentably, the initial effects of 9/11 have not endured for 10 years on a national scale.  I'm sure there are individuals who have changed the course of their lives and become kinder, more selfless and service oriented.  There was, however,  the potential for us all to move into a new era of American camaraderie, mutual respect and trust; but instead we have become divisive, intolerant, and suspicious.  We have become a nation of blamers and victims expecting others to fix all of our problems because it is "owed" to us.  Instead of facing our troubles head on with the help of those around us, like was briefly displayed on 9/11, we feel the hands we are dealt in life are unfair and that we are entitled to something more without doing anything to achieve it.

It is time that we truly honor those who were lost by locating our will, tenacity, and integrity from amidst the hyperbolic rubble under which we have allowed it all to be buried.  It is time that we stop pointing fingers at those whom we blame for the hardships that we face and work to rise out of the ashes.  It is time that we find within ourselves the ability and capacity to open our hearts to everyone and to extend the hand of brotherhood/sisterhood and fellowship.  We live in a great country, but we are tearing it apart with our bickering, derogatory words and actions, and our intolerance.  11 September 2001 demonstrated that we have the capacity to rise above all odds and now is the time to prove it.  Let's all take up the banner to help those around us regardless of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and age.  Let's come together to ensure a brighter future and truly honor the lives of those we lost! 

Events Leading to the War of 1967

     It has been a month since my last post and I apologize.  It isn't that I haven't wanted to post on many of the events that have currently graced the front pages of newspapers and magazines, but I have been working on papers for school.  My original plan was to post my most recent paper on the War of 1967 (Six-Day War) between Israel and the UAR (Egypt), but after looking into copyright laws, I realized that it could possibly become an issue to post my paper here without consent from all the authors whom I cited in my work.  So I have decided to do the next best thing--I am posting my introduction and conclusion, which provide the general content of the paper.
     The territorial gains (the West Bank, Gaza, and the Golan Heights) made by Israel during this war have been the greatest points of conflict between the Arabs and the Israelis.  This paper does not look at the results of the war and the impact they have had on the region, but rather it is an investigation of why the war occurred in the first place and the possibilities that existed to avoid war altogether.

Introduction

The Six-Day War of 1967 between Israel and the United Arab Republic (Jordan and Syria were also involved) is an example of a war that occurred due to rhetoric, manipulation, and miscalculation.[1]  Both sides had built-up sizeable militaries and were adequately armed in preparation for future conflicts, but the war that erupted between Israel and the UAR in June of 1967 was not inevitable.  This by no means suggests that the potential for conflict did not exist.  There were many contributing factors that led to the eventual Israeli attack on the UAR, but from these there are a few that played a major role in initiating the course of events that resulted in war.  Prior to the outbreak of war, the Soviet Union provided Syria and the UAR with false information about the concentration of Israeli troops on the border with Syria.  This led Gamal ‘Abdel Nasser, president of the UAR, to build-up troops in the Sinai Peninsula as a deterrent to Israel, which ultimately resulted in Nasser’s expulsion of the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) from the UAR and began a quick chain of events that culminated in a swift Israeli victory over he UAR, Jordan, and Syria.

Israel’s defeat of the UAR and its allies was a harsh blow to the Arab world and its designs to remove Israel from its place as a Middle Eastern state.  These plans were partly responsible for the resulting war in 1967, in as much as they put pressure on Nasser to come out from the shadow of the UNEF and reestablish himself and the UAR as a strong Arab nation.  This paper will examine two primary factors that escalated the situation between Israel and the UAR to war—the Soviet propaganda of Israeli troop build-up along the Syrian border and the removal of the UNEF from the UAR replaced by UAR troops in the Sinai.  The first section of this paper provides the context, by which the events of May and June 1967 were influenced.  The following section will analyze the Soviet propaganda and discuss the possible motivations for supplying its Middle Eastern clients with false information.  The final section will address the issue of Nasser’s decision to remove UNEF troops from the Sinai Peninsula, which was partially influenced by the “intelligence” provided by the Soviets.  Through a close look at these elements, one will be able to have a more thorough understanding not only of the elements that ignited the Six-Day War, but also of those things that possibly could have prevented war in the late spring of 1967.

Conclusion

The situation in the Middle East in 1967 was certainly unstable, but there was a multitude of influences that made an unstable situation, a situation of war.  The Soviet Union hoped to capitalize on the Middle East’s waning affiliation with the United States by securing its own Arab clients.  Because of this goal, it became increasingly involved in the affairs of Egypt and Syria.  Continuing a policy that had previously worked, the Soviets initiated a propaganda campaign to strengthen the bonds between its two main Arabs clients, the UAR and Syria, and to discourage any Israeli designs to attack Syria and threaten the neo-Ba‘thist government.  This propaganda was miscalculated as well as the internal situations of both Syria and the UAR.  Syria welcomed a new external war in the hopes to halt a conflict with the Muslim Brotherhood.  Nasser was not willing to be a pawn on the Middle Eastern chessboard, but wanted to be the king.  This miscalculation of the situation allowed the Soviet Union to spark the fuse that would ignite a new Arab-Israeli war.

The blame does not fall solely on the Soviet Union of course.  Although one might question if there ever would have been a war if the Soviets didn’t instigate a crisis, it is very difficult to determine this.  It is, however, much easier to determine possible outcomes had other agents reacted differently to the initial crisis.  The mobilization of UAR troops into the Sinai was not a move beyond the point of no return.  The UAR and Israel had averted a military conflict seven years earlier under almost the same circumstances.  The problem with this situation was Nasser’s need to quiet the comments of his fellow Arab leaders, which were delegitimizing his claims as leader of the Arab world.  An inaccurate assessment of the situation by the UN Secretary General U Thant further complicated the situation.  Had he applied pressure on the UAR and refused to remove the UNEF from UAR territory, it is quite likely a replay of the stand off in 1960 would have been the only consequence.  However, U Thant’s compliance with the UAR’s request, although correct according to policy concerning the UNEF, forced Nasser to continue the course of action he began.

Nasser, who did not meet the opposition he expected, had to decide whether he wanted to avoid a war and lose his prestige among the Arab world or continue with actions that would commit the UAR to another war with Israel, but would further legitimize his status in the Arab world.  He chose the latter path because that was his whole purpose in playing the game the Soviets had set before him.  The superpowers and the UN failed to recognize the importance the Israelis placed on naval access to the Straits of Tiran and didn’t work hard enough to convince Nasser to open the straits.  The risk assessment became too great for Israel and it finally attacked and defeated the UAR, Jordan and Syria. 

The possibility for a different outcome existed in 1967, but there were too many conflicting aspirations that resulted in the events that have been recorded in the annals of history.  Although the “what if” game could be played forever, what is clear from this analysis is that there is not one sole person or entity that is responsible for the chain of events that escalated into the Six-Day War.  Instead, the propaganda, manipulation, rhetoric, and miscalculations of a number of agents determined the course of events that led to war in 1967 and has affected the Middle East and the Arab-Israeli conflict ever since.     

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[1] Syria was no longer part of the UAR at this time, but it was still the official name of Egypt.

As Democracy Spreads in the Middle East and North Africa, Israel Stifles It

Israel once enjoyed the title of being the only democracy in the MENA region, but now as the Knesset has voted to ban citizen rights of freedom of speech and assembly when it comes to the actions of the Israeli government, Israel is continuing the slippery slope to dictatorship and fascism.  I know that some may find my implication of fascism as offensive and insensitive given the atrocities against Jews and other peoples that occurred at the hands of fascists, but the term is accurate for describing the direction in which Israel is headed.  The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines fascism as "a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition."  The second paragraph of the NY Times article (see link above) describes how the defenders of this bill consider it necessary in order to fight against Israel's current global delegitimization.  This certainly sounds like exalting the nation above its people and there is no question that the state of Israel already exalts race above the individual.  This new law will forcibly suppress opposition, which already occurs in the West Bank, but will now be a part of life in Israel.  I would also suggest that there is also economic and social regimenting that occurs at certain levels in Israel.  I don't think Israel has a dictatorial leader yet, but it doesn't seem far from attaining this fascist characteristic.

Police and IDF gathered at demonstration  © Chad Card

The Knesset now has made it possible to continue settlement building in the West Bank without vocal opposition.  They have just written themselves a free pass to continue illegal acts in peace and quiet.  I'm sure there are some Israelis who will not pay attention to this law and will continue to defy it.  I am also sure that the Palestinians will continue to vocalize their opposition to the acts of the state of Israel against them.  I hope the Knesset is busy building more jail space, because that is what will be needed if this bill is not overturned by the Supreme Court of Israel.

© Chad Card

© Chad Card

I recently shared some pictures of Israeli protesters in Jerusalem, who gather every Friday in demonstration against the settlements and wrongful eviction of Palestinians from their homes.  I am honored to have been able to witness this type of integrity among Israelis.  I am also saddened that these people, who know what is right, will face fines and jail if they continue to vocalize their opposition to these injustices.  If a people doesn't have the right to speak out against the actions of their government, they have lost any control they might be able to wield in that government.  When that happens, the door for authoritarianism is blown wide open.  It is my hope that enough people and nations will realize that the state of Israel is fast becoming like Nazi Germany and make a substantial change in their support for Israel's policies before it is too late and the atrocities of the holocaust are revisited on another people in the name of "national security."