Here is my exchange with Senator Cornyn (R- TX). No offense to any LSU fans out there.
Dear Senator Cornyn,
I very much appreciate your reply. I basically agree with Sections 1031 and 1032 as described by you. However, the text of the Section 1031 (b) in the bill (very bottom) is not so comforting and I would not have voted for such flawed language.
I concur with these changes applying to the first covered person description in (1). It is this qualification in description (2):
including any person who has committed a belligerent act
The bill goes through all of this trouble to delineate terrorists by their relationship to 9-11 or to Al Queada. Then you open coverage to anyone who has committed a belligerent act.
What is a belligerent act? I used to consider LSU football fans' behavior while visiting College Station to be belligerent behavior. Sometimes that behavior was translated into what I considered to be belligerent acts. Some may think they meet the criteria, but I really don't consider those LSU football fans to be terrorists. Is a belligerent act something that is solely defined by the President or Secretary of Defense? If I mistakenly commit a belligerent act and am taken to Guantanamo for indefinite detention, who do I complain to in between water-boarding sessions (thank you Sen. Ayotte)? It sounds like I have no rights in that situation. I would almost always resist trading civil rights for security more than you do. But this surrender of rights in the name of security is inexcusable.
I find it odd that both you and Senator Hutchison forgot to explain the belligerent act language when replying to my concerns. I should have been more specific in my original letter. But why would you vote for a law which is so unclear about the definition of a belligerent act? Did you read the actual language about who is covered?
You and Senator Hutchinson have both responded by attempting to convince me this only applies to terrorists (another unclearly defined term). However, neither of you explained the portion of the covering language that actually concerns me. In fact, I would not be very concerned with Section 1031 if the phrase "including any person who has committed a belligerent act" was not there. Until I receive a satisfactory explanation on that point, I will consider your vote to be negligent or worse.
The other part of your response which I feel is incorrect involves Section 1032 and it's supposed non-application to US citizens. It only states that the detention of US citizens covered by Section 1031 is not mandatory. It implies that such detention is at the discretion of the President. So obviously, your explanation using Section 1032 offers me no comfort.
Sincerely,
XXXXXXXXXXX
(b) Covered Persons- A covered person under this section is any person as follows:
(1) A person who planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored those responsible for those attacks.
(2) A person who was a 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, including any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities in aid of such enemy forces.
--- On Mon, 12/19/11,
[email protected] <
[email protected]> wrote:
From:
[email protected] <
[email protected]>
Subject: Thank You For Contacting My Office
To: XXXXXXXXXXXXX
Date: Monday, December 19, 2011, 10:50 AM
Dear Mr. XXXXXXXX:
Thank you for contacting me regarding the military detention and prosecution of terrorists. I appreciate having the benefit of your comments on this important matter.
I do not believe terrorists should be brought to the United States and be granted the same rights and privileges as American criminal defendants. Terrorists should be kept at Guantanamo Bay and prosecuted through the military commissions established by Congress under terms circumscribed by the United States Supreme Court. Trying to hold civilian trials in the United States for terrorists does nothing more than place Americans at risk, while providing terrorists with a platform from which to spew their hate-filled ideology and recruit like-minded fanatics around the world to join them in jihad. We must not forget that we are a nation at war against ruthless killers who wear no uniforms and use civilians as human shields. Treating these war crimes as ordinary criminal acts and trying these killers in a civilian court under the U.S. Constitution is simply reverting to a dangerous, pre-9/11 mentality.
As you may know, Congress passed the Military Commissions Acts of 2006 and 2009, making a powerful statement that U.S. civilian courts are not the appropriate venue to bring terrorists to justice. The military commissions were specifically designed to prevent damaging disclosures and to protect classified information, as well as sensitive sources and methods. We know that these military commissions have a long history in our Republic—dating back from the Revolutionary War and the Civil War, to World War II. They are the most appropriate forum for terrorists to be tried for their crimes.
Therefore, I supported amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (FY 2012 NDAA; S. 1867) regarding terrorist detention practices. Section 1031 of the FY 2012 NDAA would reaffirm the President’s military detention authority under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (P.L. 107—40). Additionally, Section 1032 would require military custody for a certain subset of unprivileged enemy belligerents, members of al-Qaeda and affiliated entities, pending their disposition under the law of war. By its terms, Section 1032 does not apply to U.S. citizens. These provisions were included in the FY 2012 NDAA that was unanimously reported out of the Senate Armed Services Committee.
I appreciate having the opportunity to represent you in the United States Senate. Thank you for taking the time to contact me.
Sincerely,
JOHN CORNYN
United States Senator
517 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Tel: (202) 224-2934
Fax: (202) 228-2856
http://www.cornyn.senate.gov
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