HRW: Defense bill an assault to liberty

WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) -- U.S. President Barack Obama's legacy is at stake over a bill that allows the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects without trial, Human Rights Watch said.

Despite an earlier veto threat, Obama said Wednesday he'd sign the National Defense Authorization Act for 2012. The measure allows the U.S. military to detain anyone it considers a terrorist, even if captured on U.S. soil, indefinitely and without a civilian trial.

The bill would bar moving detainees at Guantanamo Bay to the United States or to their home or third countries.

"It is a sad moment when a president who has prided himself on his knowledge of and belief in constitutional principles succumbs to the politics of the moment to sign a bill that poses so great a threat to basic constitutional rights," Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

Obama promised upon entering office to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. There 171 prisoners at the facility.

A review of the legislation from Washington publication The Hill concluded the measure doesn't call for any new powers that authorize the detention of U.S. citizens, their right to a fair trial or possible military detention.