Civil rights campaigners were thrilled when a constitutional lawyer entered the White House, expecting Barack Obama would restore the rights they felt had been eroded during George W. Bush\u2019s presidency.<\/p>\n
This would include closing the prison camp at Guantanamo Bay and seeking a better way to handle detainees accused of terrorism.<\/p>\n
Once entering the White House, however, Mr. Obama was faced with having to deal with the realities of the fight against terrorism and keeping Americans safe.<\/p>\n
Guantanamo is still open, military commissions \u2013 where the jury is made up of military officials and the U.S. Constitution doesn\u2019t apply \u2013 still operate, he has authorized the \u201ctargeted killings\u201d of American citizens, and the Patriot Act \u2013 called a \u201csurveillance superstructure\u201d by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) \u2013 has been extended.<\/p>\n
The Democratic president has gone even further. A new law, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), is the subject of a recent lawsuit and remains at the centre of a controversy over just how much it erodes civil liberties.<\/p>\n
\u201cObama has been an unmitigated disaster for civil liberties,\u201d said Jonathan Turley, a U.S. legal scholar.<\/p>\n
Activists have fought back by challenging the Obama administration in court over Section 1021 of the NDAA.<\/p>\n
This would have stripped U.S. citizens of due process in suspected terrorism cases and allowed the military to hold them indefinitely.<\/p>\n
This could include anyone \u201cwho was a part of or substantially supported al-Qaeda, the Taliban, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners, including any person who has committed a belligerent act or has directly supported such hostilities in aid of such enemy forces.\u201d<\/p>\n