Preemptive prosecution domesticates preemptive war by jailing supposed potential terrorists

Evidence

Preemptive prosecution is the domestic legal variant of the doctrine of “preemptive war,” discussed in the previous chapter. If the rationale for “preemptive war” is to prevent the rise of a future rival to the United States on the global stage, “preemptive prosecution” is about apprehending “potential” terrorists. … The logic underlying these cases is that Muslims are naturally “predisposed” to commit violent acts and should therefore be put away before they cause harm. This bizarre logic is reminiscent of Steven Spielberg’s dystopian film Minority Report, based on Philip K. Dick’s 1956 novella, about three “precogs” who can foresee crime before it occurs. Acting on this information, a police “precrime” unit then arrests people before they actually commit a crime and only because they might be “predisposed” to do so. In the movie, the unit is shut down. In real life, however, many are facing years in prison for crimes that they did not commit, in which no one had been killed and no property had been destroyed. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 583

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s earlier claim that preemptive prosecution is the domestic legal analog of preemptive war doctrine (ch11). This is the same point restated with the Minority Report analogy. — connects to: Securitization justifies detaining potential rather than actual terrorists.; Preemptive prosecution is the domestic legal analog of preemptive war doctrine.; Preemptive prosecution jails people for crimes never committed — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of…, 584 (+1 more)
• FICTION: The Minority Report analogy supplies a ready-made narrative frame — precrime units reversed onto real mass incarceration.

Broader Connections

• Preemptive prosecution is the domestic legal analog of preemptive war doctrine. #expands (0.95)
• Preemptive prosecution jails people for crimes never committed #expands (0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 584
• Anti-war activism was prosecuted as material support for terrorism #exemplifies (0.80)