Dads Army and the Civil Defence

Following on from yesterdays posting about Maffi and the one-way extradition treaty agreed between Britain and the United States of America. I think its important to realise that Homeland Security in the USA is a bit further along the road than "our experiences" with Dads Army and the Civil Defence. "They don't like it up em Captain Mainwaring" said the corporal. His prophetic words have never proved to be more true.

We had PoW camps for captured combatants.
They have Guantanamo Bay for captured civilians and combatants.
We have a legal framework that applies to all.
They have Guantanamo Bay which falls outside of their legal framework.
We have the Geneva convention that applies to all.
They have Guantanamo Bay which falls outside of the convention.
We have a very "Special Relationship" with the USA.
They tell us what to do.

Here is what the President of the USA thinks on the subject.

Today I have signed into law H.R. 1540, the "National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012." I have signed the Act chiefly because it authorizes funding for the defense of the United States and its interests abroad, crucial services for service members and their families, and vital national security programs that must be renewed. In hundreds of separate sections totaling over 500 pages, the Act also contains critical Administration initiatives to control the spiraling health care costs of the Department of Defense (DoD), to develop counterterrorism initiatives abroad, to build the security capacity of key partners, to modernize the force, and to boost the efficiency and effectiveness of military operations worldwide.

The fact that I support this bill as a whole does not mean I agree with everything in it. In particular, I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists. Over the last several years, my Administration has developed an effective, sustainable framework for the detention, interrogation and trial of suspected terrorists that allows us to maximize both our ability to collect intelligence and to incapacitate dangerous individuals in rapidly developing situations, and the results we have achieved are undeniable.

Our success against al-Qa'ida and its affiliates and adherents has derived in significant measure from providing our counterterrorism professionals with the clarity and flexibility they need to adapt to changing circumstances and to utilize whichever authorities best protect the American people, and our accomplishments have respected the values that make our country an example for the world.

Scary stuff is going on in dark corners methinks.

Later......