choof.org

June 21, 2004

Treat Them Humanely

A Marine's letter to the editor deals with the treatment of combat prisoners much better than a recent memo by now 9th Circuit Judge Jay Bybee (3 MB PDF). In the letter, the Marine recounts: "On Page 13 of U.S. Army Technical Circular 27-1, published in 1976, is the following guidance to soldiers: "The customary law of war and the Geneva Conventions of 1949 established the rules for treatment of noncombatants, prisoners of war . . . sick and wounded, and other[s] . . . whom you capture or detain in combat. The rules apply to all persons who come under your control in combat. The most important guide to lawful treatment of such persons is: Treat all captured or detained persons HUMANELY. 'Humanely' means: Treat such people as you would like to be treated if captured."

[...]

"Whatever legal arguments might be made about whether this guidance applies to those held by our troops in Iraq or elsewhere, the fundamental mandate to treat POWs and detainees humanely and as our troops would like to be treated themselves remains valid, paramount and immutable.

Posted by chris at June 21, 2004 09:21 AM

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