Historians against the War denounces the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) passed by Congress and signed into law by the President this past December.
This law authorizes $662 billion dollars for defense at a time when the U.S. economy is in a "Great Recession." Meanwhile, the President has just this week given the preliminary report on another excessive defense budget for 2013. The 2012 allocations for Afghan Security Forces, who have been implicated in abuses and widespread drug use, warrant much closer scrutiny. Also, the sanctions on Iran are reminiscent of the distortions of the Bush administration's calls to halt Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program, and are not in line with either current international (both European and Middle Eastern) thought on this issue. Last but not least, the NDAA undermines the release of some 88 people held at Guantanamo Bay who have been cleared by the FBI, CIA and Defense Department. It also authorizes indefinite detention of a broad category of "covered persons," including U.S. citizens, thereby eroding the foundations of our democracy, and making possible many more abuses and risks the dismantling of habeas corpus entirely. Therefore, Historians Against the War calls on its members and friends to:
1. Organize a demonstration against the NDAA at local Congressional
Offices on February 3 (National Day of Action, but if needed another
date would still work). Link for list of the House of Representatives
vote on the NDAA:
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/vote.xpd?vote=h2011-932
2. Ask your Congressional Representative to, at minimum, co-sponsor HR3785 to repeal Section 1021. (See note below on this bill.)
3. Organize teach-ins at your university, school, or in your community, to discuss the implications of the NDAA. Some resources can be found on our website, www.historiansagainstwar.org
Please keep the HAW Steering Committee informed (by writing to Carlmirra aol . com) informed if you decide to take these actions, and we promise to spread the word to our members of such initiatives.
Additional Note on the NDAA and HR3785:
The NDAA is a troubling law that follows a continuum of actions taken by both
Bush and Obama. A detailed draft on how the NDAA impacts U.S. citizens is
available upon request from Steering Committee member Carl Mirra,
Carlmirra aol . com. Although the problematic Ron Paul is its sponsor, at least
one reserved, local Congressman has indicated that co-sponsoring HR3785 was an
action he would be willing to take. Note too that even this bill to remove
Section 1021 is not sufficient as there is so much that is troubling in the
NDAA, but we think that it is a necessary starting point.
