Enemy combatant

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Enemy combatant was the term preferred, by the George W. Bush Administration, for members of al-Qaeda, Taliban, and others it considered ineligible for prisoner of war status. The more common language is "unlawful combatant", a lawful combatant meeting the criteria, adjudicated by a "competent tribunal" if necessary, for POW eligibility. The term has been explictly rejected by the Obama Administration.^[1]

On February 7, 2002, George W. Bush wrote

"I determined.... that members of Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces are unlawful enemy combatants who are not entitled to the protections that the Third Geneva Convention provides to prisoners of war." ^[2]

The critical criteria for lawful combatant status are, according to the Third Geneva Convention:^[3]

1. Being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates;
2. Having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance;
3. Carrying arms openly;
4. That of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war

It was reasonably clear that al-Qaeda did not operate under these rules, although the situation was less clear for Taliban in Afghanistan.

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