Overseas Combatants Act
 | This article is incomplete because it is pending further input from participants, or it is a work-in-progress by one author. Please comment on this article's talk page to share your input, comments and questions. Note: To contribute to this article, you may need to seek help from the author(s) of this page. |
The Overseas Combatants Act of 1983, alternately referred to as the Overseas Combatants Act or simply OCA (colloquially), was a high-profile and controversial intelligence bill with geopolitical implications that passed the Imperial Senate in October 1983 with President Julian Settas' support that explicitly authorized the President of Belhavia to use targeted killings overseas against enemies and opponents of Belhavia, both foreign and domestic. The bill was largely a reaction to the BDLF's 1983 HIMS Spirit of Dakos Hijacking that left several Belhavians dead and injured. The bill was applauded by defense hawks and nationalists but fiercely opposed by liberal, antiwar, and civil libertarian groups both within Belhavia but particularly overseas, in countries such as Arthurista, Emmeria, Nijdeland, and Anikatia.
Background
In reaction to the sweeping Settas Revolution within Belhavia that took a strong anticommunist turn in foreign policy, the restoration of enforcement of the White Terror laws, as well as the domestic burst of neoliberal free-market reforms curtailing government, a group of far left extremists turned violent and formed and anti-government terrorist group called the Belhavian Democratic Liberation Front to forcefully and violently overthrow the Belhavian government.
A year later, the BDLF launched its first attack, hijacking the HIMS Spirit of Dakos. The hijacking, kidnapping, and ransom demands later led to a brutal shoot-out leaving 2 civilians dead and three critically injured, and the deaths of all the militants. The brazenness and unexpected nature of the attack - just six months earlier, the IBI had concluded the BDLF were a minimal threat with near-zero capability to launch a viable attack - sparked outrage across Belhavian society. The 1983 attack was the first domestic terrorist attack on Belhavian soil in decades.
Legislation
Lobbying and Campaign
Within 48 hours of the aftermath of the attack, politicians across Belhavia argued on television, the radio, and in speeches for a harsh reprisal against and man-hunt for the group's other members. Between July 4th and July 10th, Imperial agents from the DISE launched no less than 7 coordinated raids across Belhavia, including a night-club in Dakos, a laundromat in Provisa, an abandoned industrial plant in Tel Avson, and elsewhere. The raids killed or captured 15 other BDLF militants.
A joint DISE-IBI press conference on July 11th in Provisa revealed that most high- and mid-level BDLF operatives had fled the country, likely to Estovnia, the DSRA, Ayton-Shelvay, the UTR, and the Ankaran Union. This was confirmed on August 2nd, 1983, when the three leaders of the BDLF were seen attending a military parade in the AU.
The AU and other Otterup Pact states with suspected sheltering of the BDLF fighters refused to hand over the militants. By September 1983, calls had grown loud and persistent for the Imperial Senate to grant the president the power of ordering overseas assassinations of enemies of the state. On September 28th, 1983, a draft of OCA was filed in the Senate Intelligence and Covert Affairs Committee. The next day it was given a committee vote, passing 12-1.
Bill Passage
Senator Shalom Niritz (LD-East Dakos), an outspoken antiwar liberal and noted civil libertarian, tried to rally liberal opposition to the bill by announcing a filibuster of the bill before it could be given a floor vote on October 1st.
After giving an exhaustive 14.5-hour filibuster speech, he collapsed on the Senate floor and the chamber's leaders quickly moved to call up a vote. Niritz's liberal allies, anticipating this, loaded up the bill with poison pill policy riders on unrelated and liberal matters, including a repeal of Settas' 1981 income tax reform bill.
After several days of frustrated, deadlocked voting on the floor, the public had turned against opponents of OCA and numerous thousands-strong rallies in support of the bill were held in Provisa, Dakos, and other large cities. Many liberal Tories and swing Liberal Democrats' offices were inundated with constituent calls, telefaxes, and in-person visits demanding they support the bill.
By October 6th, 1983, bill proponents had found new allies among the moderate left, including even several senators known for their anti-war and left-wing dovish sentiments, who turned and voted with the majority on a new floor vote, overwhelmingly passing the bill 61-9 with no abstentions later that day.
At 9:37am October 7th, 1983, President Julian Settas signed the bill into law.
Overview of provisions
- The Imperial Senate of Belhavia authorizes the President of Belhavia to order targeted killings and assassinations of "enemies of the state" (as defined by the President's National Security Bulletin) overseas by the IBI and local allied proxy forces.
- Any Belhavian labeled by the Bulletin as an "enemy of the state" forfeits their citizenship and all constitutional protections that it provides.
- Any aid, support, sympathy, or assistance to the BDLF is considered treason.
Aftermath
On November 19th, 1983, the IBI launched a failed targeted killing attempt against the BDLF's so-called "National Liberation Council" leaders residing in the AU. The NLC members fled the AU after this, though BDLF operatives later returned to resume activities within its borders.
President Settas expanded the use of the tactic, going after Communist leaders in active warzones and even, controversially, on Belhavian soil throughout the remainder of the 1980s.
Every president from Settas until the present has utilized OCA's authorization of the killings.