How indefinite detention snuck into Obama's defense bill

It's now legal to seize suspected terrorists and throw them in jail without charge or trial. Why was this controversial law debated in a secret committee?

Dana Liebelson

In December, President Obama angered politicians of all stripes by signing the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a broad defense bill that included a controversial provision about indefinite detention. Specifically, the provision gave the president expansive power to seize suspected terrorists and keep them in detention without charge or trial, even on U.S. soil.

According to critics, this part of the bill essentially put the controversial policies of the George W. Bush administration into hard law, shattering Obama's previous promise to stop indefinite detention and adhere to the Geneva Conventions. Stephen Colbert aptly captured the hypocrisy: "President Obama was smacked down by a man with some balls, Commander-in-Chief Obama."

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Dana Liebelson is a reporter for Mother Jones. A graduate of George Washington University, she has worked for a variety of advocacy organizations in the District, including the Project on Government Oversight, International Center for Journalists, Rethink Media, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, and Change.org. She speaks Mandarin and German and plays violin in the D.C.-based Indie rock band Bellflur.