[Thud]

The 2nd Circuit majority erred by reliance upon the "zone of combat" theory, which ignores the fact that the term is irrelevant to this conflict.

[OESY]

You are one of the few on this thread which got it right. The court seems to suggest that the WTC was outside the "zone of combat". This is like saying Pearl Harbor was outside the Pacific Theater in WWII. A logical extension of the court's argument would hold Padilla could not be prosecuted until he committed a criminal act by exploding his dirty bomb in NYC or Chicago. In that light, the 911 Panel has little relevance since the government would not be able to act preemptively to stop an action or hold an individual to gain intelligence.