The NDAA Places Citizens’ Rights on the Forefront

SARAH TAKHAR
Staff Writer

America, a country that ensures each of its citizens certain unalienable rights of freedom and liberty, has done a lot to protect its citizens and their rights. However, some wonder if this country still holds true to these ideals.
The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012 was signed to keep American citizens safe from possible terrorist attacks, and caused an outrage because many believed it would have the power to deprive citizens of rights. However, this worry is misplaced because the NDAA does not take away American citizensʼ rights.
On Dec. 31, 2011, while on vacation in Hawaii, President Barack Obama signed the NDAA. The act strengthens policies and procedures to prosecute, interrogate and detain terrorists in a way that will protect citizens from terrorist threats.
The NDAA is able to accomplish this by allowing law enforcement to capture a person who is suspected of being involved in terrorist activities and detain them without a trial. Once caught, the person who has been involved in acts of supporting anti-American movements will then be immediately turned over to the armed forces and transferred to Guantánamo Bay, a detainment and interrogation facility for the U.S. The only way the person could be transferred somewhere else is if Congress, the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of State all agree to it.
Though the act so far seems reasonable, the part of the NDAA that worries some Americans is that the President can put people who are suspected of being terrorists in prison without a trial. This makes citizens uncomfortable with the act.
However, the good news is that the act does not completely apply to American citizens. President Obama changed the NDAA on the day that he had signed it so that it will not take away American citizensʼ rights. According to a letter he wrote (which was posted on the White Houseʼs official website) President Obama rewrote the NDAA to prevent American citizens from being held and transferred to Guantánamo Bay without first putting them on trial.
Aside from this fact, a part of our country is still tense about the future of the NDAA. Some may wonder: Although President Obama may not want to take away American citizensʼ right to a trial, will the next President also believe this? One cannot be certain that the next President will take steps to ensure that our rights are not violated.
Nevertheless, we live in America and as American citizens, we have the right to vote for who runs the country. If Americans are unsatisfied with the NDAA, there are various actions they can undertake to fix it. We can file complaints to Congress. We can create petitions. We can write our opinions about the NDAA and publish it as part of our right to free speech.