So I have a theory about the passage of NDAA 2012 and I would like to know what everyone else here thinks about it.
Remember that in 2009 the Department of Homeland Security had issued a report that warned that law enforcement agencies should be worried about returning veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. The report warned that returning war veterans were likely to be targeted by white supremacists and right-wing anti-government groups. The reason for this is because they are already trained in military tactics and military weapons use. The report says that the return of veterans could lead to an emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks.
Remember also that conservative pundits lambasted DHS Secretary Napolitano for issuing the report and specifically targeting the right-wing and for being suspicious of U.S. veterans. Because of the backlash from conservative media the DHS apologized and backed off this track.
Two years later and the Occupy Wall Street movement happened. The Occupy movement is considered a left-wing populist movement. It's been rather far-reaching in nature with the "occupation" of various cities.
At an Occupy Wall Street march through Times Square on October 15, 2011, police were getting ready to break up the march when they were confronted by Shamar Thomas, a veteran of the Marine Corps, who was recorded on video exclaiming to the police that "there is no honor in this," referring to the police preparing to confront the marchers with force.
After this, the Occupy Marines was formed as a Facebook support page on October 24, 2011, as a network for Marine Corps veterans who support the OWS movement.
At Occupy Oakland on October 25, 2011, Scott Olsen was hit in the head by a projectile that witnesses claimed was either a tear gas or smoke canister that was fired by police trying to break up the protesters.
So these events show that among the left-wing populist movement that is OWS there are supporters in the U.S. military, especially in the Marine Corps.
Two months later on December 18, 2011, the last of the U.S. troops in Iraq withdrew to Kuwait. The is because the Iraqi government refused to re-authorize the Status of Forces Agreement that detailed legal protections for U.S. troops operating in Iraq. What this implies is a reduction of troops from Iraq, and possibly from serving at all, leading to the discharge of a large number of troops.
Now let's take a look at what the troops are coming home to: a horrible economy,, extremely high unemployment, and limited job opportunities. This past weekend there was a news blurb about how veterans are suffering from a 10% unemployment rate.
The U.S. Congress is also gridlocked over whether to provide important social services to American citizens. These are social services that even veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan could take advantage of.
Now, to be fair, the Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs have their own separate social programs for our veterans. Veterans need to take advantage of these programs to help them cope with life outside the military and any of the psychological traumas that may be suffering from because of their service. And I know that veterans are almost being pressured to report issues such as PTSD so they can get help.
Even so, veterans are still affected by the poor economy. Even if a veteran himself is unaffected his friends and family may be affected, which will then affect him. And it may affect him to take action of some kind.
Now let's take a look at all these things.
The Department of Homeland Security was concerned about veterans getting involved in right-wing extremist groups. The police in many areas have been charged to break up the protesters of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which many consider left-wing and has gotten the support from numbers of veterans. So there are numbers of veterans from both the right and the left who oppose the current government establishment.
And now we have the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012. There are provisions in this act which mandates that the entire world be considered a battlefield and gives the President and his executive agencies the authority to use the military to detain indefinitely American citizens suspected of terrorism. This bill was passed by both Republican and Democratic politicians.
So what do you think is the likelihood that the federal government is passing NDAA 2012 with these provisions in order to use the military to detain vocal military veterans who are members of political groups, those considered right-wing and those considered left-wing, protesting the government, its stances, and its policies since these veterans have military training and thus could be seen as a security, and possibly even a terrorist, threat to the United States?