Obama's "Disappearing Act"

Illustration by Mr. Fish

"If we lose in Hedges v. Obama—and it seems certain that no matter the outcome of the appeal this case will reach the Supreme Court—electoral politics and our rights as citizens will be as empty as those of Nero’s Rome. If we lose, the power of the military to detain citizens, strip them of due process and hold them indefinitely in military prisons will become a terrifying reality. Democrat or Republican. Occupy activist or libertarian. Socialist or tea party stalwart. It does not matter. This is not a partisan fight. Once the state seizes this unchecked power, it will inevitably create a secret, lawless world of indiscriminate violence, terror and gulags. I lived under several military dictatorships during the two decades I was a foreign correspondent. I know the beast." ---Chris Hedges

Since President Obama signed the National Defense Authorization Act on New Year's Eve, 2011---did they think people might be partying too much to notice?---and drone strikes have accelerated, Attorney General Eric Holder has said the commander in chief is on sound legal ground if he chooses to use drones to kill American citizens in the U.S.

Hedges v. Obama is a lawsuit to overturn the unconstitutional NDAA, which would allow the military to pick up and detain "indefinitely" any American citizens whom they believed "substantially support" al-Quaida, the Taliban or their "associated forces" without due process, without being charged and without a trial.  Those vague terms could include journalists or basically anyone who, upon the military's or a President's whim, could be "disappeared."

As a former copy editor, I cringe at the use of "disappear" as a transitive verb.  But, if language follows popular usage, it is fitting to say, as does Nashville city council member Fabian Bedne, that the government "disappeared my brother" in Argentina before he left his native country for the United States.

So, basically, anyone who speaks out against the current regime or military in the U.S., could be "disappeared."

Reporter Chris Hedges along with Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsburg and other patriots sued Obama and the secretary of defense.  A federal court judge agreed with them that the law is unconstitutional.  Pentagon lawyers broke their necks to get in court and "stay" the law---leave it in place until the next level of appeal could be heard.  The appeal was argued last month in a federal appeals court, but a ruling has not come down yet.  This will go to the Supreme Court, eventually.

Click for the story in which  Hedges updates things after the appeals court hearing.