E.I.R. GmbH

Obama's “Enabling Law” Goes into Effect

On Dec. 15 the U.S. Senate joined the House of Representatives in voting up the infamous National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which, for the first time in the history of the United States, gives the U.S. military the mandate to indefinitely detain American citizens on American soil, without a trial, even if they are only suspected of indirect ties to terrorists. This full-fledged assault on the Constitution was decried by many citizens and organizations, but the lawmakers passed it anyway.

While President Obama had originally threatened to veto the Act, it was not because of that provision, but because he felt it limited his own "inherent powers" as President to decide on how to conduct the "war on terrorism". In fact, as revealed by Senator Carl Levin in the Senate on Dec. 12, the original language of the relevant section, as drafted by the Armed Services Committee, exempted U.S. citizens and lawful residents from the indefinite detention provisions, but the Obama Administration insisted that the exemption be removed.

As of last October, a group of 23 retired generals and admirals went public with their firm opposition to having the Armed Forces carry out such a mission, which undermines the judicial process. General Joseph Hoar and others also wrote to President Obama asking him to veto the Act.

This law, which Lyndon LaRouche has termed "Obama's Enabling Act", is definitely grounds for impeachment. As a matter of fact, Obama is able to press ahead with such brazen police-state measures, LaRouche said on Dec. 18, only because the Congressmen and Senators have refused to impeach him. "You can all be taken out and shot, with nobody to complain! It's all there, now, because we didn't get rid of Obama. Because cowards wouldn't get rid of Obama, when the evidence is there."

Interestingly, the House Democrats Party split down the middle on the issue, with 93 voting for and 93 against. 43 Republicans also voted against, and 147 for. In the Senate, the vote was 89 to 13, with 6 Republican conservatives voting against.

Among those who did oppose the NDAA, is Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul, who called it a "step where they can literally arrest American citizens and put them away without trial... It is literally legalizing martial law."

Democratic Senator Al Franken also voted against, as he explained, because "what we are talking about here is that Americans could be subjected to life imprisonment without ever being charged, tried, or convicted of a crime, without ever having the opportunity to prove their innocence to a judge or a jury of their peers." However, none of the elected officials have had the courage to demand Obama's impeachment.

Instead, they are politicking. One day after voting for the National Defense Authorization Act, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein and Senator Mark Udall, a member of the Senate Armed Services and Intelligence committees, introduced a new bill (the Due Process Guarantee Act of 2011), providing that American citizens apprehended inside the United States may not be indefinitely incarcerated by the military, without charges or a trial.

Two similar bills have been introduced in the House of Representatives, one on Dec. 15, by Republican Jeff Landry from Louisianna, and the other one day later Democrats John Garamendi of California and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico.

In other words, rather than standing up for principle, they cut a dirty deal to get Obama's Enabling Act through. The new bill has 12 co-sponsors, including 3 Republicans.

This mess does, however, underscore the call for bipartisanship recently issued by LaRouche. Rather than Republicans or Democrats, as labels, he said, "What we need, is an assembly of proven merit, in terms of potential candidates of both tickets, particularly the leaders, the best ones. And bring them together for a common cause. Let them be members of different parties, but let them be, first, citizens of the nation, and representatives of the citizenship of the nation. We want the best minds of both parties, [without] the rubbish. Dump it by the wayside, at the same time."

Weitere Meldungen

Top

Schiller-Institut e.V.

Bürgerrechtsbewegung Solidarität

LaRouche Political Action Committe

EIR Online

Impressum