|
back to CAH |
ratville |
rat haus |
Index |
Search |
tree
|
C R I M E S A G A I N S T H U M A N I T Y
|
|
|
the focus is:
|
"PATRIOT" Act II
|
|
"On February 7 [2003], Charles Lewis, head of the Washington-based
Center for Public Integrity, received a secret, but not
classified, Justice Department draft of a bill that would expand
the already unprecedented government powers to restrict civil
liberties authorized by the USA Patriot
Act. This new bill is called the
Domestic Security Enhancement Act of
2003. Lewis, in an act of patriotism -- since this still is a
constitutional democracy -- put the 86-page draft on the center's
Web site . . . Section 201
would overturn a federal court decision that ordered the Bush
administration to reveal the identities of those it has detained
(imprisoned) since 9-11. . . . Under the proposed Ashcroft bill
reversing that court decision, for the first time in U.S. history,
secret arrests will be specifically permitted. . . . In Argentina,
those secretly taken away were known as `the disappeared.'
[The phenomenon of disappearances is considered a
crime
against humanity by
the Statute
for the International Criminal Court: "`Enforced disappearance of
persons' means the arrest, detention or abduction of persons by, or
with the authorization, support or acquiescence of, a State or a
political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge that
deprivation of freedom or to give information on the fate or
whereabouts of those persons, with the intention of removing them
from the protection of the law for a prolonged period of time."]
"Section
501 of the blandly
titled Domestic Security Enhancement
Act of 2003, an American citizen can be stripped of
citizenship if he or she `becomes a member of, or provides material
support to, a group that the United States has
designated as a ``terrorist
organization,'' if that group is engaged in hostilities against
the United States.' . . . What this section of the bill actually
means is that if you provide `material support' to an organization
by sending a check for its legal activities -- not knowing
that it has been designated a `terrorist' group for other things
it does -- you can be stripped of your citizenship and be detained
indefinitely [or deported to
any country that agreed to take you] as an alien. While South
Africa was ruled by an apartheid government, certain activities of
the African National Congress were categorized as `terrorist,' but
many Americans provided support to the legal anti-apartheid work
of that organization.
"Under
Section 302
of John Ashcroft's design for our future
during the indefinite war on terrorism, there is another change
in our legal system. Under current law, the FBI can collect DNA
identification records of persons convicted of various crimes.
But under the USA Patriot Act II,
the `Attorney General or Secretary of Defense' will be able to
`collect, analyze, and maintain DNA samples' of "suspected
terrorists.' And as Georgetown law professor David Cole notes
-- `mere association' will be enough to involve you with
suspected terrorist groups. What does `association' mean? For
one thing, `material support,' under which you could lose your
citizenship."
|
|
All draft sections are hyperlinked to their analysis portion (which
links to the Bill's text section) and indented to better approximate
their appearance in the original
pdf document:
Title I -- Enhancing National Security Authorities
Subtitle A: Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Amendments
|
|
Sec. 101.
|
Individual Terrorists as Foreign Powers.
|
|
Sec. 102.
|
Clandestine Intelligence Activities by Agent of a Foreign Power.
|
|
Sec. 103.
|
Strengthening Wartime Authorities Under FISA.
|
|
Sec. 104.
|
Strengthening FISA's Presidential Authorization Exception.
|
|
Sec. 105.
|
Law Enforcement Use of FISA Information.
|
|
Sec. 106.
|
Defense of Reliance on Authorization.
|
|
Sec. 107.
|
Pen Registers in FISA Investigations.
|
|
Sec. 108.
|
Appointed Counsel in Appeals to FISA Court of Review.
|
|
Sec. 109.
|
Enforcement of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court Orders.
|
|
Sec. 110.
|
Technical Correction Related to the USA PATRIOT Act.
|
|
Sec. 111.
|
International Terrorist Organizations as Foreign Powers.
|
|
|
Subtitle B: Enhancement of Law Enforcement Investigative Tools
|
|
Sec. 121.
|
Definition of Terrorist Activities.
|
|
Sec. 122.
|
Inclusion of Terrorist Activities as Surveillance Predicates.
|
|
Sec. 123.
|
Extension of Authorized Periods Relating to Surveillance
and Searches in Investigations of Terrorist Activities.
|
|
Sec. 124.
|
Multi-function Devices.
|
|
Sec. 125.
|
Nationwide Search Warrants in Terrorism Investigations.
|
|
Sec. 126.
|
Equal Access to Consumer Credit Reports.
|
|
Sec. 127.
|
Autopsy Authority.
|
|
Sec. 128.
|
Administrative Subpoenas in Terrorism Investigations.
|
|
Sec. 129.
|
Strengthening Access to and Use of Information in National Security Investigations.
|
|
Title II -- Protecting National Security Information
|
|
Sec. 201.
|
Prohibition of Disclosure of Terrorism Investigation Detainee Information.
|
|
Sec. 202.
|
Distribution of "Worst Case Scenario" Information.
|
|
Sec. 203.
|
Information Relating to Capitol Buildings.
|
|
Sec. 204.
|
Ex Parte Authorizations Under Classified Information Procedures Act.
|
|
Sec. 205.
|
Exclusion of United States Security Requirements from Gross Income of Protected Officials.
|
|
Sec. 206.
|
Grand Jury Information in Terrorism Cases.
|
|
Title III -- Enhancing Investigations of Terrorist Plots
Subtitle A: Terrorism Identification Database
|
|
Sec. 301.
|
Short Title.
|
|
Sec. 302.
|
Collection and Use of Identification Information from Suspected Terrorists and Other Sources.
|
|
Sec. 303.
|
Establishment of Database to Facilitate Investigation and Prevention of Terrorist Activities.
|
|
Sec. 304.
|
Definitions.
|
|
Sec. 305.
|
Existing Authorities.
|
|
Sec. 306.
|
Conditions of Release.
|
|
|
Subtitle B: Facilitating Information Sharing and Cooperation
|
|
Sec. 311.
|
State and Local Information Sharing.
|
|
Sec. 312.
|
Appropriate Remedies with Respect to Law Enforcement Surveillance Activities.
|
|
Sec. 313.
|
Disclosure of Information.
|
|
|
Subtitle C: Facilitating International Terrorism Investigations
|
|
Sec. 321.
|
Authority to Seek Search Warrants and Orders to Assist Foreign States.
|
|
Sec. 322.
|
Extradition Without Treaties and for Offenses Not Covered by an Existing Treaty.
|
|
Title IV -- Enhancing Prosecution and Prevention of Terrorist Crimes
Subtitle A: Increased Penalties and Protections Against Terrorist Acts
|
|
Sec. 401.
|
Terrorism Hoaxes.
|
|
Sec. 402.
|
Providing Material Support to Terrorism.
|
|
Sec. 403.
|
Weapons of Mass Destruction.
|
|
Sec. 404.
|
Use of Encryption to Conceal Criminal Activity.
|
|
Sec. 405.
|
Presumption for Pretrial Detention in Cases Involving Terrorism, Firearms, Explosives, or Serious Violent Felonies.
|
|
Sec. 406.
|
"Mass Transportation Vehicle" Technical Correction.
|
|
Sec. 407.
|
Acts of Terrorism Transcending National Boundaries.
|
|
Sec. 408.
|
Postrelease Supervision of Terrorists.
|
|
Sec. 409.
|
Suspension, Revocation, and Denial of Certificates for Civil Aviation or National Security Reasons.
|
|
Sec. 410.
|
No Statute of Limitations for Terrorism Offenses.
|
|
Sec. 411.
|
Penalties for Terrorist Murders.
|
|
|
Subtitle B: Incapacitating Terrorism Financing
|
|
Sec. 421.
|
Increased Penalties for Terrorism Financing.
|
|
Sec. 422.
|
Money Laundering Through Hawalas.
|
|
Sec. 423.
|
Suspension of Tax-Exempt Status of Designated Terrorist Organizations.
|
|
Sec. 424.
|
Denial of Federal Benefits to Terrorists.
|
|
Sec. 425.
|
Corrections to Financing of Terrorism Statute.
|
|
Sec. 426.
|
Terrorism-Related Specified Activities for Money Laundering.
|
|
Sec. 427.
|
Assets of Persons Committing Terrorist Acts Against Foreign Countries or International Organizations.
|
|
Sec. 428.
|
Technical and Conforming Amendments Relating to the USA PATRIOT ACT.
|
|
Title V -- Enhancing Immigration and Border Security
|
|
Sec. 501.
|
Expatriation of Terrorists.
|
|
Sec. 502.
|
Enhanced Criminal Penalties for Violations of Immigration and Nationality Act.
|
|
Sec. 503.
|
Inadmissibility and Removability of National Security Aliens or Criminally Charged Aliens.
|
|
Sec. 504.
|
Expedited Removal of Criminal Aliens.
|
|
Sec. 505.
|
Clarification of Continuing Nature of Failure-to-Depart Offense, and Deletion ofProvisions on Suspension of Sentence.
|
|
Sec. 506.
|
Additional Countries of Removal.
|
|
|
"Against a backdrop of perpetual war,
it's hard to imagine that Congress will put up much of a fuss
over Patriot II. Who could vote against better domestic
security? Here are some of the more unsettling proposals:
- Broadens the definition of Americans
who could be under surveillance without a warrant, and mandates
further coordination between state, local, and federal law enforcement
for the purpose of conducting surveillance. Translation: The
feds can instruct your local police to keep an eye on you.
[§ 101,
§ 102,
§ 107,
§ 122,
§ 125
]
- Expands surveillance powers
to grant easier government access
to bank accounts,
home computers, telephones,
and credit card accounts
based upon subpoenas issued by the Department
of Justice. The entities subpoenaed to obtain information about
you could not refuse to provide the information (an expansion
of current powers under Patriot I). Evidence obtained that would
link a person to terrorism or terrorist groups (as defined by
the State Department) would not be disclosed except to a court
(individuals would have no right to know why they were charged)
and pretrial detentions would be mandatory. You would have little
possibility of defending the charges.
- Makes some nonviolent acts
punishable
by the death penalty if they are linked to broader "terrorist
activities."
- Empowers the federal government
to conduct
its own autopsies of victims of terrorism and "other deadly
crimes," presumably any type of murder.
- Amends the Freedom of Information Act
to curtail even further the
public's ability to obtain information about people detained or
charged. If you were arrested for a crime of terror, your
accuser could remain nameless.
- Increases federal powers over immigrants
by means that include: expedited
deportation proceedings, the
criminalization of even
minor paperwork violations (such as a
student's failure to report that he or she dropped a course),
and even more limited judicial review of immigration rulings.
|
|
|
"At no point in this sequence is the Bush/Ashcroft notion of
legal process distinguishable from Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Saddam,
or any other despot one cares to name. The only difference is
the frequency of usage, and that's the next step: particularly
given the bellicosity of Bush foreign policy, soon to be on
display in Iraq and Palestine, future major terrorist crimes on
American soil are a virtual certainty. Israel, a much smaller,
much more militarized, and far more experienced country, cannot
prevent them; there is no reason to expect the U.S. can,
either.
"When
that happens, the public and political outrage will be the impetus
that allows these sweeping measures [of
PATRIOT II] to
be implemented more broadly. The laws will already be on the books
and found meritous, more often than not, by 20 years of
conservative court appointees. . . .
"All
in all, the only individuals whose behavior is earning them
the title of people officially at war with the United States --
and all it has stood for -- work in the Bush Administration
itself. The Congressional Republicans, and Democrats, who might
well support such legislation deserve to be deluged by public
outcry. Tell them it's an affront to liberty and democracy. Tell
them it's unpatriotic. Tell them the
Domestic Surveillance
Enhancement Act of 2003 is positively Un-American."
|
|
back to CAH |
ratville |
rat haus |
Index |
Search |
tree
|
