Dear Senator Webb,

Thank you for your detailed response.  I should say you are the only one I have corresponded with who has provided one, and I have corresponded with all of my Congressmen as well as the White House.  I am puzzled that, regardless of your concerns, you voted for this bill.  The indefinite detention of US citizens without the right to trial or judicial review of their status because they are suspected throws our rights out the window.  This is more than dangerous. It is inconceivable that such legislation could be viewed as consistent with the Constitution.  Yet you voted for it despite your concerns.  This is a sad day for America.  I have read the bill coming out of reconciliation, and it is no better.  It should unequivocally state that US citizens, regardless of where apprehended or detained, retain the right to a judicial review of their status.  It should also set time limits within which this judicial review must occur.  To state that the military status review process does not apply to those who have access to the habeas petition process is a lark and bone with no meat as Boumediene has been contested by holding that Bagram detainees were not included.  It has been the clear intent of many in Congress to execute preventative detention without judicial review or trial.  Should this bill pass, it now applies to US citizens, wherever they may be apprehended or detained, except Gitmo.  This flies in the face of my pledge to uphold and defend the Constitution of The United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.  I still take that pledge seriously.  You, dear Senator, appear to be one of those enemies, as well as all others who voted for this bill.   Explain yourself.  I feel betrayed by a brother.

Semper Fidelis,

Harold R. Gielow
LtCol USMC (ret)

Connected by DROID on Verizon Wireless

-----Original message-----

From: correspondence_reply@webb.senate.gov
To: hrgie@earthlink.net
Sent: Wed, Dec 14, 2011 16:16:15 GMT+00:00
Subject: Senator Jim Webb's Response to Your Message.

December 14, 2011

Lieutenant Colonel Harold Richard Gielow, Sr.

3006 Trottinridge Rd

Clarksville, VA 23927-2003

Dear Mr. Gielow:

Thank you for contacting my office regarding sections in the Fiscal Year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (S. 1867) pertaining to the authority and conditions under which the Armed Forces of the United States may detain suspects. I appreciate your sharing your views with me on this important matter.

I share your concerns with these provisions. There are serious constitutional issues at play regarding broadly-defined military operations inside the United States, and there is a long and uncomfortable history among other countries that have taken this kind of approach.  We need to be very clear. We must very narrowly define how the military would be used and--quite frankly--if it should be used at all inside our borders. I would note that my concerns in this regard were almost universally shared by our nation’s military, law enforcement and intelligence leadership.

It is for this reason that I cosponsored an amendment introduced by Senator Udall which would have stripped these provisions from the bill, and instead require a joint report from the Secretary of Defense, the Director of National Intelligence, the Secretary of State, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Attorney General regarding the appropriate role of the Armed Forces of the United States in detention and prosecution. Unfortunately, this amendment was defeated by a vote of 38-60.

As your representative in the Senate and in my role on the Senate Armed Services Committee, please be assured that I will keep your views in mind as the Senate continues to debate military detention policy. Your correspondence helps me serve you better in the Senate.  I hope that you will continue to share your views with me and my staff in the future.

I would also invite you to visit my website at www.webb.senate.gov for regular updates about my activities and positions on matters that are important to Virginia and our nation.

Thank you once again for contacting my office.

Sincerely,

Jim Webb

United States Senator

JW:kw