Follow the Geneva Conventions: Muslims Only Apply

The Bush administration early on in its 'War on Terror' justified the extralegal detention of armed combatants on the grounds that such combatants had themselves violated the Geneva Conventions by dressing in intentional deceiving civilian clothes. Since the wearing of civilian clothes and not recognized uniform is disallowed by the Geneva Conventions, the American administration argued that since the Afghan and fellow combatants did not adhere to the Geneva Conventions during war they are not entitled to the protections the accord stipulates after the fighting. If someone choose not to follow the Convention during war, why should he expect that the Conventions should all of a sudden carry weight once he's detained? Such was the reasoning of the uber-hawkish Bush administration. If anything the administration argued that by suspending the application of the Convention and demonstrating the consequences of such action that, as the administration argues, was actuated by the lack of respect for the Convention by the Al Qaeda militants, it would strengthen respect for the Convention in future wars.

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But it turns out that penalization for refusal to abide by the Geneva Convention only applies to Muslim combatants. Apparently for the Bush administration, only the enemies of America are supposed to follow the international laws of war and only when they, Muslims, break them are they supposed to be held in contempt. A recent report by NBC News Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel states that American troops in Pakistan are concealing their identity through long breads and local dress in an attempt to blend in to the "crowd". The exact same thing the Taliban fighters did in violation of the Convention that allowed the U.S. to then justify their abuse at Guantanamo Bay.

Mr. Engel reported:

And certainly don’t ask about the troops on bases here in Afghanistan who don’t wear uniforms, have long beards (so they can better blend in during covert operations), tattoos and don’t mingle with regular soldiers.

The U.S. government, at least under Bush, only believes in the respect of the Geneva Conventions for its enemies, but apparently American troops can float any rules of war in pursuit of their war goals. While the Bush administration and many conservative members of the American establishment justify the suspension of the Convention for prisoners who in their former capacity as soldiers refused to abide by the Convention, many of these same voices and, of course, the Bush administration applaud the covert action undertaken by American troops. The even more startling matter is that such action is being taken in a country that America considers an ally and in opposition to the Pakistani government.

The lesson here is clear: The United States only believes in international law when it suits its interest and will ignore such law when it does not. American cannot expect to establish international norms when it itself refuses to abide by them. If the United States is going to chip away at law such as the Geneva Convention whenever it benefits it, it cannot cry foul next time the U.S. actually finds a use for the Convention and finds that a certain nations refuses to abide by it. Just as the Bush administration has refused to during its 'War on Terror'.