Americans: The Next Enemy Combatants?

"Enemy combatant" is a term we've always heard being used to describe members of Al Qaeda and other non-American terrorists, but with the National Defense Authorization Act, this label could apply to Americans.

This term was coined when the government was figuring out how to get around the Geneva Convention. It is defined by Dictionary.com in these words: "Any member of the armed forces of a state which which another state is at war; also any person in an armed conflict, including terrorism, who could be properly detained under the laws and customs of war."

I bolded "war" and "including terrorism" in order to emphasize the nod to the War on Terror. The "enemy combatants" who were captured during the War on Terror are currently at Guantanamo Bay, a place where torture is abundant and press scarce. These terrorists aren't American. The majority of them are Middle Eastern, because the Middle East is essentially where America is fighting the War on Terror.

This brings me to a scary thought about the NDAA: Americans who are suspected of any kind of terrorism can be sent to Guantanamo Bay, and once they are sent there, who knows what will happen to them? The realization of what the NDAA meant for our country struck a chord in me. I have heard of cases where people are suspected of terrorism solely based upon their Middle Eastern-sounding name. Could this happen to people in my family? I have relatives in the US named Muhammad and Omer. They have lived here the majority of their lives. They are Americans. Could they be jailed at a moment's notice? I've lived here for 15 out of my 17 years of life. Could I be put through a military trial based on suspicion?