 In July 2011, a unanimous panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit affirmed, in an opinion by Circuit Judge Merrick Garland which concluded Al Alwi was in fact an enemy combatant lawfully detained under the 2001 AMUF.In December 2014, President Barack Obama announced the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan.Al-Alwi then filed a new petition for habeas corpus, arguing that the government's authority to detain him “unraveled” when President Obama declared an end to hostilities.