Last "Enemy Combatant" in U.S. loses in Court
Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, the last "enemy combatant" held on United States soil, suffered a setback in federal court on Monday. Magistrate Judge Robert S. Carr issued an opinion castigating al-Marri, who is being held in a South Carolina military brig, and his legal team for failing to rebut the claims put forth by the U.S. government justifying his prolonged detention. Judge Carr recently ordered the federal government to provide evidence explaining why al-Marri is being held, an order which the government met in the form of a declaration by Jeffrey N. Rapp, Director of the Joint Intelligence Task Force for Combating Terrorism.
The government alleges that al-Marri entered the United States on September 10, 2001 for the express purpose of carrying out "post-September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks." Al-Marri is said to have met personally with Osama bin Laden and was picked by Khalid Sheik Mohammed to carry out further attacks on the United States. The preference of al-Marri stems in part from his American background. While al-Marri is a dual national of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, he graduated with a degree in business administration from Bradley University.
Al-Marri was originally detained as a "material witness" in December 2001. He was then "re-arrested" in January 2002 on charges of fraudulent possession of credit cards, but before he could be tried on these charges, al-Marri was deemed an "enemy combatant" in June 2003 by President Bush and transferred to the South Carolina military brig where he resides to this day.