On New Year's Eve last year - President Obama quietly signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act containing a provision giving the President and the military the power to indefinitely detain Americans who are suspected of associating with terrorists. On Wednesday night though - that very same indefinite provision was struck down by a federal judge. So for now - until another court hears the case - and until the Supreme Court eventually has the final say - our nation has once again found its values. We are, for the moment, not a frightened nation that indefinitely detains people without due process of the law. We are, for the moment, not a frightened nation that gives up our values as soon as the going gets tough. And in the midst of all of this - George W. Bush left office - and President Obama moved in. And when a still-frightened Congress tried to enshrine Bush-era indefinite detention into law - President Obama pushed back. Arguably - he didn't push back near hard enough - and ended up signing into law the National Defense Authorization Act including indefinite detention. But he did so with a signing statement reading: "I want to clarify that my Administration will not authorize the indefinite military detention without trial of American citizens. Indeed, I believe that doing so would break with our most important traditions and values as a Nation. My Administration will interpret section 1021 in a manner that ensures that any detention it authorizes ...
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