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AP. 26 January 2002. U.S. Divided Over Geneva Convention. WASHINGTON -- Bush administration lawyers are divided over whether the Geneva Conventions apply to hundreds of detained members of the al-Qaida terrorist network and the former Taliban regime in Afghanistan, a senior State Department official said Saturday. But all sides do agree that the al-Qaida and Taliban fighters in U.S. custody in Cuba and elsewhere are not prisoners of war, said the official, who commented on condition of anonymity. The issue probably will be settled at a White House meeting next week as all sides attempt to agree on a unified U.S. position, the official said. "The consensus of opinion is that the Taliban and al-Qaida fighters are not POWs," Sean McCormick, spokesman for the National Security Council, said Saturday. The State Department traditionally seeks to have the Geneva Conventions apply to detentions because it is likely to improve the prospects for decent treatment for Americans held abroad. The effect of this position in the current case would ensure such humane treatment for the detainees even though they are not considered POWs under the convention. President Bush has decided that the detainees are not entitled to the protections of the Geneva Conventions -- which rule out trial by military tribunal -- because they are terrorists, not uniformed members of a national military. Human rights groups and some European officials have criticized living conditions accorded more than 150 detainees held in outdoor enclosures at the U.S. Naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Vice President Dick Cheney said Friday that the detainees are "really bad people" who don't qualify as prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. "Nobody should feel defensive or unhappy about the quality of treatment they've received," he said. "It's probably better than they deserve." . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Barry Stoller http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ProletarianNews --------------------------- ANTI-NATO INFORMATION LIST ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [email protected] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
