US detainees to get Geneva rights

[adroit]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5169600.stm

All US military detainees, including those at Guantanamo Bay, are to be treated in line with the minimum standards of the Geneva Conventions.

The White House announced the shift in policy on Tuesday, almost two weeks after the US Supreme Court ruled that the conventions applied to detainees.

President Bush had long fought the idea that US detainees were prisoners of war entitled to Geneva Convention rights.

The defence department outlined the new policy to staff in an internal memo.

This is big news, no?

[Dont Hurt Me]

Indeed, so i guess it means sorry for the torture:D

[Black&Tan]

The question is whether or not the ruling will trickle down to the army. And they did have a revised code of conduct that specifically eliminated some of the Geneva Conventions...

Or the CIA.... after all, this ruling only applies to "military captives."

[zimv20]

it's about time. but i'll say 1) i'm really surprised, and 2) i don't really believe it.

[IJ Reilly]

This is big news, no?

Yes, a major change in direction, or at least apparently so. I'm with zim -- I'll believe it when I see it. But the real game is being played in Congress right now. I'd be watching for signs of whether the White House will accept legislation that gives detainees legal rights under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, or whether they push for a congressional endorsement of their original tribunal process.

[Ugg]

I say it's all about mid-term elections.

If congress decides to pass a law exempting the US from the Geneva Convention, you can be sure that Americans abroad will become targets.

[mactastic]

This is big news, no?
Only if it changes anything on the ground. And of that I have my doubts.

[solvs]

This is big news, no?
You'd think. But no. This should have been the rule all along. Doesn't matter if they don't follow it. We should. End of story.

I too will believe it when I see it.

[FFTT]

I'm afraid the damage has already been done.

This administration's policy on the treatment of detainees will not be forgotten
any time soon.

It's bad enough to put our troops in harms way for a lie, but now any of those
troops taken prisoner will suffer greatly.