Ask500

The link is to an editorial opinion by an opponent of Gitmo. The relevant quotation from it is "Bush said he would be 'adhering to the spirit of the Geneva Convention' in handling the detainees." That's further than the Geneva Conventions actually require him to go.

The Geneva Conventions clearly define who gets full POW protections, and who does not. Terrorists, particularly those not fighting for a signatory nation, don't qualify for all protections under the Geneva Conventions. Most rights extended to non-POW detainees are left to national laws and other treaties, but not the Geneva Conventions.

U.S. law requires detainees to be treated humanely even when they are not fully protected by the Geneva Conventions. There may be plenty of Gitmo offenses to prosecute under U.S. law, but the Geneva Conventions simply don't extend all protections to all detainees.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geneva_Conventions