Slight problem with Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter's proposal to bring the Gitmo detainees to Colorado's SuperMax federal prison complex. It's not only a bad idea that should be opposed on policy grounds -- it would actually violate the Laws of War. References: Channel 7 "Could Gitmo Terror Suspects be coming to Colorado?" ... Denver Post "Ritter favors bringing detainees to Supermax"... Rocky "Lawmakers urge Ritter not to accept Gitmo prisoners."
Now, I was a bit rusty on my Laws of War instruction as the story broke, but when I heard about Ritter's proposal to bring captured enemy combatants to Colorado's civilian prisons, something didn't ring quite true - so I decided to do a bit of research. I didn't have to dig very far (heck, I'm not even a lawyer) to discover the following:
The Geneva Convention (III) Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War states specifically that combatant prisoners may NOT be held among the general (civilian) prison population. The language of the convention is quite clear: regarding where captured enemy combatants may be held, Article 22 of the conventions states clearly and unequivocally that "they shall not be interned in penitentiaries."
So, when do the impeachment proceedings and war crimes trials begin?