Because that's where Padilla (why are we not using his Muslim name?) was picked up.
Because that's where Padilla (why are we not using his Muslim name?) was picked up.
It doesn't have as much to do with where he was captured, as why was he coming into the country.
Under civil law, you must wait until an overt action is taken.
Under the Law of War, enemy combatants may be captured before they do anything bad.
He entered the country to do reconnaissance work. That makes him an enemy combatant. He did not comply with the requirements of the Geneva Convention in how he was identifiable, and so he is a unlawful enemy combatant.
Under the Geneva Convention, he is a spy. If he was attempting to blow things up, he is a saboteur.
In any event, what he was doing was not necessarily a violation of civil law, so he cannot be charged with that.
What he did and was doing was a violation of the Law of War and the Geneva Convention, which is prosecuted by Military Commission.