Hi Hawkmoon; Re: "If these guys are legitimate combatants, they can be held, without bail, trial, or sentencing, until the "war" is declared "over""
This is a damn fine point. I guess we should release them when the surviving leader of Al Qaeda publicly hands a ceremonial dagger over to Rumsfeld on the deck of the Kitty Hawk.
I'm thinking these dudes could be in jail for a long time to come.
Re: "If they are illegitimate combatants, there is some discretion with regard to their status ..." The Geneva Convention is quite clear on this. We can hang them as criminals.
By the way, here's an interesting link:
18. If U.S. military forces capture a terrorist, is he or she a POW?
Very unlikely. As mentioned before, the Geneva Convention that provides protections for prisoners of war is limited to situations of “armed conflict which may arise between two or more of the High Contracting Parties.” Moreover, even assuming that circumstance exists, the captive usually must be a member of the armed forces of a Party to the Convention. (If such a person has committed unlawful terroristic acts, he or she will be treated as a POW but tried for crimes, including war crimes, where appropriate.) In any event, a non-state actor will almost never qualify for POW status. Although it is possible, for example, for members of “organized resistance movements” to be entitled to POW designation if captured, they achieve that status only when such movements are: 1.) commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates; 2.) wear a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance; 3.) carry arms openly; and 4.) conduct their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war. In an international armed conflict, persons whose status is unknown are entitled to be treated as POWs until the issue is resolved.
au.af.mil
Incidentally, did you know that under the Geneva Convention it's okay to mark your military vessels with the flags of neutral nations, but it's a "perfidy" to pretend to be wounded when you're not? Here's the appropriate quotes:
...
Ruses of war and the employment of measures necessary for obtaining information about the enemy and the country are considered permissible ... To make improper use of a flag of truce, of the national flag, or of the military insignia and uniform of the enemy [Bilow: Note that a neutral 3rd party is not an "enemy". Thus such ruses are not against the convention.] ...
...
The following acts are examples of perfidy: ... the feigning of an incapacitation by wounds or sickness
...
usafa.af.mil
-- Carl |
