Parts of the Act you should know: You spy? You die.

[ryanus]

"(27) SPYING.—Any person subject to this
chapter who with intent or reason to believe that it
is to be used to the injury of the United States or
to the advantage of a foreign power, collects or
attempts to collect information by clandestine means
or while acting under false pretenses, for the
purpose of conveying such information to an enemy of
the United States, or one of the co-belligerents of
the enemy, shall be punished by death or such other
punishment as a military commission under this
chapter may direct."

http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=109_cong_bills&docid=f:h6166eh.txt.pdf

Winning phrase: "or such other punishment as a military commission under this chapter may direct."

[Marnieworld]

1. aipac scandal anyone?

I guess they forgot to mention that when Republicans do it it's ok.

[NotGivingUp]

2. exactly who IS the united states????

[Marnieworld]

4. L'etat C'est moi!

Or really lui, M. Bush. It has come to this.

[Jcrowley]

7. That is the relevant question

This is the answer:


And here is an enemy combatant:

[TahitiNut]

3. Even worse, "an enemy of the United States" is subject to interpretation

... at the whim of the ruling party at any time. When John Walker Lind went to Afghanistan, the Taliban were still enjoying the afterglow of 'official' American support in the aftermath of the rejection of the USSR. When the "War On (Some) Drugs" was still the favorite "war" of the Reich, their alliance in eliminating the cash crop of opium poppies earned them many millions in agricultural cash assistance from both the Clinton and Bush administrations.

Al Qaeda was "our" creation in Afghanistan. But the Taliban weren't adequately cooperative in selling out their national interests to the global energy corporations, so they were offered carpeting: "a carpet of gold or a carpet of bombs."

No declaration of war is needed to become an "enemy" anymore. An "enemy" need not be a state or national entity. It's anything the fucking Reich wants to call it.

[EC]

5. Investigative reporters?

wouldn't they be considered enemies now? The lessons this group learned from Nam was to stop public opinion from going against them, rather not let us know how things are going in Iraq or in the government...so now a reporter reports on something the White House thinks exposes them, they can use this...

[onenote]

6. isn't espionage already punishable by death?

and you do realize that the sections you cite are describing specific crimes that can be heard by the military commissions, which only have juridiction over alien unlawful enemy combatants.