Reply #1: MSNBC: Pentagon says all detainees entitled to Geneva Conventions protecti [View All]

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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13813974/

Pentagon revises Guantanamo detainee policy
Memo says Geneva Conventions do apply, reflects Supreme Court ruling

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration said Tuesday that all detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and in all other U.S. military custody around the world are entitled to protections under the Geneva Conventions.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said the policy, outlined in a new Defense Department memo, reflects the recent 5-3 Supreme Court decision blocking military tribunals set up by President Bush.

The policy, described in a memo by Deputy Defense Secretary Gordan England, appears to reverse the administration’s earlier insistence that the detainees are not prisoners of war and thus subject to the Geneva protections.

Snow insisted that all U.S. detainees have been treated humanely. Still, he said, “We want to get it right.”