Eric Holder: GITMO detainees not entitled to Geneva POW protections

The incoming Attorney General stated in a 2002 interview that terrorists held down in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba were not prisoners of war and therefore were not entitled to the protections of the Geneva War Conventions.

It seems to me that given the way in which they have conducted themselves, however, that they are not, in fact, people entitled to the protection of the Geneva Convention. They are not prisoners of war. If, for instance, Mohammed Atta had survived the attack on the World Trade Center, would we now be calling him a prisoner of war? I think not. Should Zacarias Moussaoui be called a prisoner of war? Again, I think not.

And yet, I understand what Secretary Powell is concerned about, and that is we’re going to be fighting this war with people who are special forces, not people who are generally in uniform. And if unfortunately they somehow become detained, we would want them to be treated in an appropriate way consistent with the Geneva Convention.

-Eric Holder, 2002


Start water boarding till they sing!

2002 Video Flashback- Eric Holder: Terrorist Detainees Don't Fall Under Geneva Conventions (NewsBusters)
Obama AG 2002: Terrorists aren’t protected by the Geneva Conventions (Hot Air)