May 10, 2011 12:42PM # Domestic Military Detention Isn’t Necessary By [David Rittgers](https://www.cato.org/people/david-rittgers) --- SHARE I make the case that domestic military detention for all terrorism suspects isn’t necessary in [this piece](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-rittgers/domestic-military-detenti_b_859623.html) over at the *Huffington Post*. Legislative proposals by [Rep. Buck McKeon](http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h968/show) (R‑CA) and [Sen. John McCain](http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-s551/show) (R‑AZ) would mandate military detention instead of criminal prosecution for all those suspected of international terrorism. I oppose this policy change for reasons both principled and practical: > If the civil rule of law handles terrorist threats adequately, then invoking military jurisdiction is a counterproductive overreaction. > > > That was the case with one of the handful of domestically detained enemy combatants, Ali al-Marri. Al-Marri was an honest-to-goodness Al Qaeda sleeper agent masquerading as an exchange student. The FBI indicted him on charges that could have carried a 115-year maximum sentence. The government requested that the judge dismiss its charges with prejudice, meaning that they could not be levied again, and moved him to a naval brig. > > > The Supreme Court ultimately agreed to hear al-Marri’s case, but the government mooted the case when it removed al-Marri from military custody and charged him with material support of terrorism. Al-Marri pleaded guilty and received a sentence of eight years and four months. > > > Al-Marri’s case was a missed opportunity. The government should have put him away for life. This isn’t the first time McKeon and McCain have proposed treating all terrorism suspects like al-Marri and Jose Padilla. I [criticized](../the-case-against-domestic-military-detention/) a similar proposal [a year ago](../playing-chicken-again/), as did [Ben Wittes](http://www.lawfareblog.com/2010/11/rep-mckeons-detention-bill/) of the Brookings Institution. Wittes’ criticisms of this year’s bad ideas are [here](http://www.lawfareblog.com/2011/03/an-analysis-of-the-mckeon-legislation/) and [here](http://www.lawfareblog.com/2011/03/analysis-of-the-mccain-legislation/). Given the [excellent track record](http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/pdf/080521-USLS-pursuit-justice.pdf) of federal courts in prosecuting terrorism cases and the recent death of bin Laden, now is not the time to roll back the civil rule of law. ##### Related Tags [Defense and Foreign Policy](https://www.cato.org/defense-foreign-policy), [Constitutional Law](https://www.cato.org/constitutional-law), [Robert A. Levy Center for Constitutional Studies](https://www.cato.org/robert-levy-center-constitutional-studies) [![Creative Commons License](/build/cato_2020/images/creative-commons.svg)](http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) This work is licensed under a [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/).