After being held as an enemy combatant in a military brig in South Carolina for six years, Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri appeared in court yesterday, charged with providing aid to terrorists. Al-Marri plead not guilty. Al-Marri is suspected of being an al-Qaeda "sleeper agent" who was meant to participate in a terrorist attack immediately following 9/11.
Because Al-Marri was already being held on American soil, charging him was less politically complicated than charging detainees who are currently held at Guantanamo Bay. A number of legislators have expressed their opposition to holding suspected or convicted terrorists within their states.
-- A. Serwer
