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As I've noted before, contrary to those who would justify the inhumane treatment and torture of detainees in Iraq, which we now have more more videotaped evidence of would like you to believe, The Geneva Conventions do NOT just cover uniformed military personell.
In fact, though the Third Geneva Convention defines a category of detainees called "prisoners of war" (POWs) and lays out specific protections for them, the Fourth Geneva Convention ("Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War") lays out separate protections for civilians, including so-called "unlawful combatants"
I thought I'd bring this up again because of this new video lovingly named Ramadi Madness which shows, among other things, "Two soldiers pretend to choke a third soldier with a plastic handcuff," solders saying "I don't know what the (expletive) this guy did, but he is a bad guy," detainees being kicked and abused, and soldiers playing with a dead Iraqi man as though he's a puppet.
Also, I wanted to point out some interesting notes from the fourth convention:
Article 83:
"The Detaining Power shall not set up places of internment in areas particularly exposed to the dangers of war."
Article 85:
"The Detaining Power is bound to take all necessary and possible measures to ensure that protected persons shall, from the outset of their internment, be accommodated in buildings or quarters which afford every possible safeguard as regards hygiene and health, and provide efficient protection against the rigours of the climate and the effects of the war. In no case shall permanent places of internment be situated in unhealthy areas or in districts the climate of which is injurious to the internees. In all cases where the district, in which a protected person is temporarily interned , is in an unhealthy area or has a climate which is harmful to his health, he shall be removed to a more suitable place of internment as rapidly as circumstances permit."
Article 89
"Daily food rations for internees shall be sufficient in quantity, quality and variety to keep internees in a good state of health and prevent the development of nutritional deficiencies. Account shall also be taken of the customary diet of the internees."
Article 93
"Internees shall enjoy complete latitude in the exercise of their religious duties, including attendance at the services of their faith, on condition that they comply with the disciplinary routine prescribed by the detaining authorities.
Ministers of religion who are interned shall be allowed to minister freely to the members of their community"
So, if you don't want to go by the Geneva conventions, you can try and get out of them. However don't go using them to justify this sick and inhumane treatment of prisoners. According to the conventions, your boys over there have broken almost every rule and, were this a more just world, every person implicated in these crimes would be tried and punished.
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