Discussion Forum: The National Defense Authorization Act

On the last day of 2011, President Obama signed the NDAA for 2012. Section 1021 of this year’s bill authorizes the Armed Forces to detain any person "who was 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," and anyone who commits a "belligerent act" against the U.S. or its coalition allies in aid of such enemy forces, under the law of war, "without trial, until the end of the hostilities” authorized by the Authorization for Use of Military Force Act of 2001. This is de facto indefinite detention, which violates the United Nations Convention Against Torture.

A brief presentation by Bill Comiskey and Arshad Ali will be followed by an open discussion.