Continuing American Fascism With Unlimited Detention

Obama's Hypocrisy

By Carl Herman
September 12, 10:32
Courtesy Of The Nonpartisan Examiner

Almost a year after Mr. Obama's election as President, with the sworn duty to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States, his administration continues the unconstitutional policies of declaring human beings as "enemies" and detaining them without rights for as long as they so dictate (as in dictatorship). As a teacher for US Government classes, I can tell you that this is un-American in every academic understanding of what Americanism means. We have other words to describe a political philosophy of unlimited government that rejects inalienable civil and political rights: dictatorship and fascism are academically correct.

The US Constitution has only two classifications of human beings: citizens and "persons." All of the Bill of Rights pertain to persons. Therefore, it is President Obama's sworn duty, as it was for President Bush before him, to uphold those rights for every person who interacts with the US government. The only exception to this would be the choice of exercising international law and/or extradition for non-citizens.

The New York Times reported that the Obama administration will continue policies of unlimited detention for 600 human beings at Bagram prison in Afghanistan (winning hearts and minds) while giving lip-service to "review" such policies. A typical ANONYMOUS quote supporting the destruction of the Constitution while having pretended patiotism from a Department of Defense puppet:

“We don’t want to hold anyone we don’t have to hold,” said one Defense Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the guidelines have not been formally announced. “It’s just about doing the right thing.”

Wait. Doing the right thing would be for the US military to stop following the orders of "leadership" that invaded Iraq and Afghanistan against the law. We know this now from the evidence that there is no legal justification for invasion. Don't believe me; read this to understand the two simple laws that allow the terrible act of invasion. If another country invaded the US and talked about "doing the right thing," we'd tell them to acknowledge their invasion was illegal, leave, pay for physical and punitive damages, and subject their criminal leaders for crimes against peace/Wars of Aggression. That's what Americans would demand is the "right thing," true? And all the while the invading force was here, Americans would be actively resisting their presence, including armed attacks to kill the invaders. Yes?

The 2006 Military Commissions Act (MCA), under which indefinite detention and the destruction of habeas corpus are given a Nazi-like veneer of legality, has also been applied to American citizens. How do we know that's the intent? Because the US government has argued for its legal application to two American citizens all the way to the Supreme Court. Mr. Obama argued MCA was unconstitutional as a Senator, but as President has refused to rescind it and now applies its use.

Here's what the MCA allows: the Executive Branch can declare anyone an "unlawful enemy combatant," detain the person forever without being charged with a crime, held in isolation from contact with friends and family, be denied access to an attorney or to challenge one's detention (destruction of habeas corpus), subject to "enhanced interrogation techniques" (the same term the Nazis used) for testimony that can be used at trial, use heresay evidence, use "secret" evidence represented in a summary that's admissible but you cannot inspect directly for "national security" (that means the government could say they have video of you murdering civilians but never produce the evidence), and the same executive who does the accusing also chooses the three-person tribunal that decides the evidence. This is poster-law fascism, folks.

The following three videos are helpful. First, one of the most respected Constitutional Law scholars, Jonathan Turley powerfully explains MCA with Keith Olbermann (8 minutes). Second, liberal Rachel Maddow eloquently attacks President Obama on indefinite detention (7 minutes). Third, Turley and Olbermann discuss how the Obama administration is EXPANDING Bush administration policies against the Constitution (4 minutes).

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