Blog Six

Topic Three

The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and Zeiotun.

The National Defense Authorization Act is and act that allows the president to arrest people. This act was passed by the current president of the Untied States Barack Obama on December 14, and by the senate by December 15. However, the president waited until December 31, 2011 to formally signed. According to Obama, one of the purposes of this law is to address national security programs, the department of health care cost, counter terrorism, and military modernization with a founding of $662 millions. However, one of the controversies of this law is under the section 1021 entitle "Indefinite Detention without a Trial." This section is based on the authorization of the president and the authorization for use of military force against terrorism (AUMF) to arrest any person who seems suspicious of supporting any terrorist group such as al-Qaeda without a trial. This means that someone could be thrown in jail simply because of the way the look when that person do not have any connection with terrorism, or even worse, when that person was not even aware of that law. In addiction, some people may see this as misuse of presidential empowerment because it is unfair to judge someone without any prove, or if put in jail, without a trial.

In the other hand, there are people and organization who oppose this law. For instance, the American Civil liberties Union better know as ACLU which is the nation's guardian liberty that is always around to ensure the individual rights guarantee by the U.S constitution, and they are against this law because they know that putting a person without a lawyer its unconstitutional. Also, human right first is an organization that engage citizens to live up its adeas opposed the law. Some states such as Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and California reject the law as well.

Moreover, This law is connected with the book of Zeitoun by Davis Eggers. In this book, the main character was arrested simply because he looked like a terrorist, and he did not had a trial. Everything happened in 2005 when hurricane Katrine hit the city of New Orleans. Everybody needed to evacuate because Katrine was announced as a huge storm, however, Zeitoun decided to stay to make sure that his properties were not damage. After the storm, more than half the city was totally destroyed, and Zeitoun was helping other people that decided to stay like him, but they were stock because those people were elderly, and they could not do anything else but wait for someone to help them. Since there was a complete chaos in the city, the government had sent military troops to restore the order because many people were taking advantage of the situation by looting everything that could be valuable at that time of crisis and desperation. Unfortunately, Zeitoun was caught by two men with no insignia or identification because he seemed suspicious, and he was taken way to prison where he was torture, and of course, without a trial. Even though this law was not passed at that time, that is how, according to president Obama, this law is supposed to work.