You are both right and wrong of course.

You are right in that the 3rd Geneva Convention does indeed specify these designations for POWs but you are wrong in assuming that if someone does not meet them then he/she is to be treated as a piece of meat with no rights whatsoever.

In case a person does not fall under the 3rd convention, he/she then falls under the 4th as a civilian or specifically in case of Bin Laden’s driver as a civilian criminal to be tried with all rules of law applicable in a civilian court. There is simply no way for a prisoner to “fall through the cracks” of the Geneva Conventions and to become a piece of meat with no rights whatsoever, totally at the mercy of the conquering nation. Under the conventions one is a civilian with more rights unless specifically falling into the other special categories.

And as someone already pointed out, the Conventions form a baseline, a minimum standard, expected that of civilized nations.

Pingback by MissM’s Blog #70

Miss M,

…Limphog (and his TREASONOUS right wing media co-conspirators) will eventually go the way of McCarthy…

Apparently the polls go over your head! In event you have not been reading them, over 66% of this nation think we are headed in the wrong direction. Your great decider’s approval has once again dropped; down to 35% now. Only some 40% or so approve of this imbecile’s handling of the Iraq war. And it goes on and on…so, it is an open ended question as to the “diminishing group” you refer to. I don’t believe YOU even believe what you post…you just like to see your comments in print with all that high level of knowledge about what will be in those translated documents. Do you have some sort of crystal ball? Or, as most trolls, do you just throw out any comment you think will attract some attention. Get a life!

“Stay steadfast and don’t leave Baghdad, otherwise all the capitals in the region will fall to the crusaders,” said the message.

“Your Muslim nation is looking for you and praying for your victory. You are their hope after God. You are God’s trusted soldiers who will liberate the ummah (the nation) from the serfdom of the crusaders in our countries,” bin Laden said in the posting.

…wish we had people like him running this country…

Well, I guess you should be in a tantrum! You suckers have been trying your best to trash that “goddamned piece of paper” every since the decider managed to assend to his throne. Now that the Court has thrown a wrench in the works, you have the gaul to talk about the right wing base, notably down to some 30+ percent of the American public. Yes, you might destroy us at the polls. With your ilk controlling the diabold voting machines and, as that ass King up in NY says, taking care of the counting, you just might do that. But, that’s un-American, and would only be appreciated by a GOP jackass!