(Air Force Times) Backtalk: Obama must change policy on prisoners of war

[unhappycamper]

Obama must change policy on prisoners of war
By Robert F. Dorr

President Barack Obama won’t be able to mess things up as rapidly as his critics fear. And he won’t be able to repair the nation’s ills as fast as his supporters hope.

But he can act immediately in one area, on his own, at little cost: He can restore common sense to the way we handle prisoners.

The Obama camp already has vowed to shut down the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

That’s a great start, but today’s policy on prisoners involves more than the place the U.S. government holds detainees. It remains the same policy announced by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld — the 1949 Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War applies to prisoners taken in Iraq but not to detainees in captured in Afghanistan.

~snip~

But even if current policy were legal — and I won’t concede that — it tarnishes our image around the world. Worse, the policy raises questions about how U.S. troops will be treated when captured in future conflicts. It’s time to apply the Geneva Convention to all war prisoners. Obama can do so the instant he takes office. He needs no legislation from Congress.


Rest of article at: http://www.airforcetimes.com/community/opinion/airforce_backtalk_pows_112408/%2e