National Defense Authorization Act

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National Defense Authorization Act

« February 2012

National Defense Authorization Act

How Obama Ignored The NDAA's Military Custody Provision

Ryan J. Reilly | February 29, 2012, 12:17PM

The Obama administration issued procedures late Tuesday on their interpretation of the provisions of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which required some terrorism suspects to be held in military custody. In short, the guidelines make it nearly impossible for a terrorism suspect to end up in the hands of the military.

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Topics: Barack Obama, National Defense Authorization Act, Steven Bradbury

National Defense Authorization Act

Obama Administration Pushes Back On Liberal Criticism Over NDAA's 'Indefinite Detention'

Ryan J. Reilly | January 6, 2012, 9:30AM

President Barack Obama and Senior Adviser David Axelrod

The Obama administration thinks many in the liberal blogosphere are mistaken in their belief that the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) signed by the president on New Year's Eve authorizes the indefinite detention of citizens captured on U.S. soil.

Many progressive and libertarians have argued that the NDAA codifies the president's ability to detain a U.S. citizen captured on American soil until the war on terrorism is declared over. The administration believes that the NDAA doesn't specifically allow for the indefinite detention of American citizens, but concedes that it doesn't specifically ban the practice either.

A senior administration official maintained in an interview with TPM that the NDAA "changes nothing" about the legal question of whether the government could allow for the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens captured in the United States.

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Topics: Barack Obama, Carl Levin, Counterterrorism, FBI, Guantanamo, Indefinite Detentions, Justice Department, National Defense Authorization Act, Obama Administration

FBI

Obama To Basically Ignore Congress' Terrorists-In-Military-Custody Mandate

Ryan J. Reilly | January 5, 2012, 5:44AM

Federal law enforcement officials had been worried about the "uncertainty" that a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) would create for agents dealing with a terrorist attack because of the plethora of qualifiers that would send a terrorist suspect into military custody. But the signing statement issued by President Barack Obama on New Year's Eve appears to indicate that it should be business as usual as the administration develops implementation rules for the new provisions over the next 60 days.

Officials like FBI Director Robert Mueller had worried that Section 1022 of the NDAA "lacks clarity" about how law enforcement officials should handle a suspected terrorist at the time of arrest. That section required individuals who weren't citizens or lawful U.S. residents who have had ties to al-Qaeda, the Taliban or "associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners" to be placed into the military system -- facts that could be difficult to determine right off the bat ("They don't wear al-Qaeda hats," one law enforcement official official told TPM.)

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Topics: Barack Obama, FBI, Justice Department, National Defense Authorization Act, Obama Administration

National Defense Authorization Act

Holder: Obama Will Issue Signing Statement With NDAA Detention Rules

Ryan J. Reilly | December 21, 2011, 4:02PM

Attorney General Eric Holder confirmed speculation Wednesday that President Barack Obama would issue a signing statement when he makes the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and its controversial detention provisions law.

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Topics: Barack Obama, Eric Holder, Justice Department, National Defense Authorization Act, Obama Administration

National Defense Authorization Act

So You Think You've Arrested A Terrorist: TPM's Incomplete Guide To Detainee Custody Under The NDAA

Ryan J. Reilly | December 20, 2011, 11:20AM

President Barack Obama's decision not to veto the National Defense Authorization Act over controversial and unclear provisions regarding the handling of certain kinds of terror suspects will leave law enforcement officials scrambling to rewrite the rules for how they respond to suspected terrorist incidents.

Once the bill is signed into law, the Obama administration will have 60 days to redraw rules on how everything will be implemented and try to clear up what the White House called the "uncertainty" that the law "will create for our counterterrorism professionals."