"HeyBub" wrote:

The 4th Geneva Convention defines a "lawful enemy combatant" as one who a)
Wears a distinctive uniform, b) Carries arms openly, c) Reports to a defined
chain-of-command, AND d) Conforms his conduct to the customary rules of
warfare. By extension, anyone not meeting all four of these conditions is an
"unlawful" enemy combatant.

Eh? No. From the 3rd Geneva Convention that specifically addresses prisoners
of war:

"Art 4. A. Prisoners of war, in the sense of the present Convention, are persons
belonging to one of the following categories, who have fallen into the power of
the enemy:
(1) Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict, as well as members
of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces.

(2) Members of other militias and members of other volunteer corps, including
those of organized resistance movements, belonging to a Party to the conflict
and operating in or outside their own territory, even if this territory is
occupied, provided that such militias or volunteer corps, including such
organized resistance movements, fulfil the following conditions:[
(a) that of being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates;
(b) that of having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance;
(c) that of carrying arms openly;
(d) that of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs
of war.

[...]

(6) Inhabitants of a non-occupied territory, who on the approach of the enemy
spontaneously take up arms to resist the invading forces, without having had
time to form themselves into regular armed units, provided they carry arms
openly and respect the laws and customs of war. "

Many of the Gitmo residents probably fall under (2) or (6). Notice no uniform
is required under (2), just a "fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a
distance". Perhaps "Taliban Local Chapter 135"?

No identification of any kind is required under (6).

I can find nothing in the 4th Geneva convention that addresses legal or illegal
combatants at all.

By the way, all four Geneva Conventions were passed on 12 August 1949. They
address different related topics.

See http://www.icrc.org/Web/Eng/siteeng0...evaconventions

-- Doug