Long ago, before the Taliban and Al Qaedda, the Geneva Conventions were convened. The Conventions held that war should have some “Rules”, and that those playing by the Rules should have “Benefits”. People obeying the rules of war were considered “lawful combattants”, and were entitled to the protections of the Geneva Conventions. A number of categories of warriors were considered to be “unlawful combattants” on the basis of their behavior on the battlefield. Mercenaries, people who targeted civilians, people who targeted medics, warriors who did not wear uniforms, were all considered as creating excess danger for innocents.
This ruling depowers the Geneva Conventions. By giving benefits to those who fight illegally, you create less motivation to “Fight by the rules”, and to gain the protections of th Geneva Conventions. Obama has no experience with the Geneva Conventions, but McCain sure does.
Illegal combattants can and should be held until the end of the war. Wake me when that happens.
Problem for McSame and Co. is that not all of detainees are Qaeda operatives. They are getting ‘lynched’ in the sense that American regime has them under detention while no one is to judge but the regime itself. Hence they are called ‘illegal combatants’ by Zionist evangelicals while no one can question the proofs of their involvement. THAT’s why it is a human rights issue, and not just a Geneva Convention issue.
One example: Lakhdar Boumediene.
Lakhdar Boumediene (Arabic: لخضر بومدين; born April 27, 1966) is an Algerian-born citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina who was held in military custody in the United States Guantanamo Bay detention camps in Cuba beginning in January 2002.
Boumediene was the lead plaintiff in Boumediene v. Bush (2008), a U.S. Supreme Court decision that Guantanamo detainees and other foreign nationals have the right to file writs of habeas corpus in U.S. federal courts.
He and four other of the Algerian Six plainti...