Terror Case Resolution Nears

Ali Kahlah al-Marri is the only “illegal enemy combatant” imprisoned inside the United States, having been held without trial charge on a military brig in South Carolina for five years. After writing a long piece on al-Marri in this week’s New Yorker, Jane Mayer offers an update, saying the Obama administration is “close to resolving the case. … according to sources close to the case, a federal grand jury is meeting today in Peoria, Illinois, and may indict Marri on multiple terrorism charges, including providing material support for terrorism. Mayer says, “an indictment would signal a major shift in legal policy from the Bush years.” If indicted, he will be transferred from military detention to the criminal-justice system.