Legal Warfare

just before lunchtime on Thursday, the 20th of December 2007 by Chad

Bin Laden’s driver is not a POW, U.S. judge says

Osama bin Laden’s driver is not a prisoner of war as defined by the Geneva Conventions and can be tried by a Guantanamo war crimes tribunal, a U.S. military judge ruled in a decision made public on Thursday.

This should have been a much easier decision. The right of a combatant to be called a Prisoner Of War is very easy to ascertain. It’s a simple checklist of things like "Is he wearing an identifiable uniform?" What 5 year old can’t figure that out?

Al Qaeda’s modus operandi is to blend in with civilians and create terror. They’re not an organized army and shouldn’t be treated as such. If they want the benefits of POW status, let them create a uniform and wear it. But here’s the thing: Al Qaeda doesn’t want POW status. It’s people in the US that feel guilty about being born that want to provide these unearned benefits. I haven’t seen the Red Cross visit any captured allied troops, only videos made where people following the rules of warfare, that are allowed POW status, have their heads cut off.