[blackdog]

We don't even know what coutry these prisoners are from? Prior experience tells us they are foreign to Iraq. Rules of war dictate protections to uniformed combatants, not terrorists or guerilla warfare.

Again, I say uniformed combatants. No uniform, no rules. That's the Geneva Convention. There are not too many countries who are signators of the Geneva Convention.

I am not supporting violence toward them. I'm just saying that your argument of rules of war do not apply based on our being a signator of the Geneva Convention. You need to belong to a state who has declared war for that and you need to wear their uniform.

[MACVSOG68]

I am not supporting violence toward them. I'm just saying that your argument of rules of war do not apply based on our being a signator of the Geneva Convention. You need to belong to a state who has declared war for that and you need to wear their uniform.

You are correct that we do not know where these prisoners came from, yet we believe we are in a war, and as such, our military leaders are requiring that we comply with the rules of war, which is not all that difficult. We are after all, the strongest military power in the world, and should not attempt to use the non uniform issue to circumvent our responsibilities.

As I have stated before, I support strong interrogation techniques if we have reason to believe they will be productive, and I rarely question actions resulting from the heat of battle. The commander on the ground must be given wide leeway in the pursuit of victory.

As you well know, that is not what this is about. This is about alleged atrocities, not committed in the heat of battle, or even by responsible individuals. This appears to be about out of control soldiers with inadequate supervision.

[Tommyjo]

"Again, I say uniformed combatants. No uniform, no rules. That's the Geneva Convention"

A Prisoner of War (PW) is defined as enemy personnel - in or out of uniform who carry arms openly.

[Tommyjo]

"There are not too many countries who are signators of the Geneva Convention."

At the last count there were 189 nation states that have signed the convention.

[Tommyjo]

Further to my earlier post I was forgetting about the definition from the US Supreme Court. In UK forces and for the rest of the world it is very more simplistic "Enemy personnel - In or out of uniform who carry arms openly".