Thank you for contacting me regarding the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2012.

As a Senator, I have no greater responsibility than to ensure our national security and to provide our military with the tools it needs to keep our country safe. That is why I supported the vast majority of the provisions in the NDAA. However, because I believe this bill infringes on critical Constitutional values, I opposed final passage.

First, the bill authorizes the President to indefinitely detain a terrorism suspect without trial and failed to make clear that under no circumstances can an American citizen be detained indefinitely without due process of law. I simply do not believe that a person should be seized on American soil and detained without charges and without due process of law.

Second, it mandates, for the first time, that non-American suspects arrested in the United States be detained by the military, rather than civilian law enforcement. Throughout our history, there has been a clear divide between our military, which fights wars abroad, and law enforcement in the United States. That divide has worked. For example, since 9/11, over 400 terrorists have been successfully convicted in civilian, not military, courts.

Finally, the bill makes it much more difficult to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay. There simply is no compelling reason to keep the facility open and not to bring these detainees to maximum security facilities within the United States. The detention center is a recruiting tool for those who wish to cause us harm and has been a stain on our nation's honor. I agree with former Secretary of State Colin Powell who said "we have shaken the belief that the world had in America's justice system by keeping the detention center at Guantanamo Bay open. We don't need it and it's causing us far more damage than any good we get for it."

Again, nothing is more important to me than the security of our country, and I take the responsibility to protect our country very seriously. But, I believe we can protect our national security without compromising our core Constitutional values and principles. Both our national security and our Constitutional principles are important and I believe that they can be accomplished simultaneously.

Thank you for sharing your views with me. Please do not hesitate to let me know how you feel on any issue that concerns you.

Sincerely,

Tom Harkin