We posted this at our sister site (blogsforbush.com) in January, but given the Left's dangerous and reflexive desire to make the U.S. military's job harder to do, it is worth a refresher course on why the Geneva Convention does not apply to terrorists. Here is the operative section of the Geneva Convention:

Article 4

A. Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of the enemy:

1. Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.

2. Members of other militias and members of other volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements, belonging to a Party to the conflict and operating in or outside their own territory, even if this territory is occupied, provided that such militias or volunteer corps, including such organized resistance movements, fulfil the following conditions:

(a) That of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates;

(b) That of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance;

(c) That of carrying arms openly;

(d) That of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.

3. Members of regular armed forces who profess allegiance to a government or an authority not recognized by the Detaining Power.

4. Persons who accompany the armed forces without actually being members thereof, such as civilian members of military aircraft crews, war correspondents, supply contractors, members of labour units or of services responsible for the welfare of the armed forces, provided that they have received authorization from the armed forces which they accompany, who shall provide them for that purpose with an identity card similar to the annexed model.

5. Members of crews, including masters, pilots and apprentices, of the merchant marine and the crews of civil aircraft of the Parties to the conflict, who do not benefit by more favourable treatment under any other provisions of international law.

6. Inhabitants of a non-occupied territory, who on the approach of the enemy spontaneously take up arms to resist the invading forces, without having had time to form themselves into regular armed units, provided they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war.

Paragraphs 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6 do not apply because the terrorists violate them (relevant portions underlined). Therefore, terrorists' only claim to Geneva protections must come by qualifying under Paragraph 2. However, terrorists fail the tests of Paragraph 2 as well (relevant portions in bold).

It is therefore manifestly clear and absolutely unambiguous that terrorists are not entitled to protection of the Geneva Convention. Furthermore, efforts to extend those protections to terrorists as an example of our moral superiority are naive because the protections themselves are the only incentive for adherence. To do extend Geneva to violators would reduce the inducement for compliance and weaken the Convention. Thus endeth the lesson.

Now would someone tell Scott McClellan to lecture the White House press corps about this?

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