Statement by Pentagon Press Secretary George Little on the Capture of Abu

I think it is interesting that Mr. Little began his statement with "under military authorities" and that Abu Anas al Libi  is "lawfully detained under the law of war."  Seems like we are sending a deliberate message here which I would think would make for an interesting discussion among policy makers, strategists and lawyers versed in the law of war.  I wonder what this means for the AUMF and SOCOM's Global SOF Network.  Is the message that the US and its SOF, CIA, FBI will be authorized under the law of war to hunt down terrorists (including pre-9-11 terrorists) anywhere in the world and take what appears to be unilateral action in a  (semi or quasi?) sovereign country (any time, any place, any way - and not just through the use drone strikes)?   Seems like this would be in response to Robert Chesney's recent essay: "Would Abandoning the War Model of Counterterrorism Make a Difference from a Legal Perspective?" at this link in New Republic.  http://www.newrepublic.com/node/114995/print 

As they say, talk amongst yourselves.

V/R

Dave

U.S. Department of Defense Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs) News Release

On the Web:  http://www.defense.gov/Releases/Release.aspx?ReleaseID=16294 Media contact: +1 (703) 697-5131/697-5132 Public contact: http://www.defense.gov/landing/comment.aspx or +1 (703) 571-3343

IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 700-13 October 06, 2013

Statement by Pentagon Press Secretary George Little on the Capture of Abu On Oct.5, the Department of Defense, acting under military authorities, conducted an operation to apprehend longtime Al Qaeda member Abu Anas al Libi in Libya. He is currently lawfully detained under the law of war in a secure location outside of Libya. Wherever possible, our first priority is and always has been to apprehend terrorist suspects, and to preserve the opportunity to elicit valuable intelligence that can help us protect the American people. Abu Anas al Libi has been indicted in the Southern District of New York in connection with his alleged role in Al Qaeda's conspiracy to kill U.S.nationals and to conduct attacks against U.S. interests worldwide, which included Al Qaeda plots to attack U.S. forces stationed in Saudi Arabia,Yemen, and Somalia, as well as the U.S. embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, and Nairobi, Kenya.  The successful capture operation was made possible by superb work and coordination across our national security agencies and the intelligence community, and was approved by President Obama. No American personnel or civilians on the ground were injured during the operation. These actions are a clear sign that the United States is committed to using all the tools at our disposal to bring to justice those who commit terrorist acts against