Guantanamo Bay Detainees Overview
Current Status and Legal Challenges
The detention and treatment of the suspected enemy combatants at Guantánamo Bay has been a constant source of friction for the Bush Administration since it began transporting prisoners there in January 2002. After criticism from human rights organizations and many foreign governments regarding the determination that the Geneva Conventions of 1949 do not apply to the detainees there, President Bush shifted position with an announcement that Taliban fighters are covered by the 1949 Geneva Conventions, while al Qaeda fighters are not. Taliban fighters are not, however, treated as prisoners of war (POWs) because they reportedly fail to meet international standards…
