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~~~Ol
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.·~.;~c.~~r
a.u.,~~.
~
February
7,2002
-THE
WHITE
HOUSE
'WASHINGTON
THEVICE
PRESIDENT
THESECRETARYOFSTATE
THESECRETAR¥OFDEFENSE.
THEATTOIUfEYGENERAL'
CHIEFOFSTAFFTO
THE
PRES'IDEm
DIRECTOR·OF
CSNTRAL
~NTELLIGENCE
ASSIST~
TOTHE
PRESIDENT
FOR
NATIONAL·
SECURITY
AFFAIRS
.
CHAIRMAN
OF
THE
JOINT
CHIEFS
OF
SrrAFF
\.
MEMORANDUM
FOR
4+...
..
f,~.
"""'i=o~
SUBJECT:
.
Humane
Treatment
of
al
Qaeda
and
Taliban-Detainees
2.Pursuant
to
my
authority
as
Commander
in
Chief
and
Chief
Executive.
of
the
United
States,
an~
relying
on
the
opinion
of
the·Department
of
~us tice-dated
January
22,
2002,and
on
the'.legal
opinion
rendered
by
the
Attorney
General
in
his
letter'
of
February
1,
2002,
I
hereby
detiezmi
ne
as
·follows·;·
a.
I
accept'the
legal
conclusionof
theDepa~tment
of
Justice
and
determine
that
none
ofthe
provisions
of
Geneva-apply
to
our
conflict
with
al
Qaeda
~n
Afghanistan
or
elsewherethroughout
the
worldbecause,
among
other
reasons,
al
Qaeda
is
not
a
High
Contracting
P~rty
t9
Geneva.
b.
I
accept
the
iegal
conclusion
of
the
Attorney
General
.and·
the
Department.of
Justice
that
I
have
the
authority
.·under
~he
Constitutionto
suspend
Geneva
as
between
the
United
States
~nd
Afghanistan,
but
I
decline
to
1.
Our
recent
extensive
discussions
regarding
the
status
of
al
Qaeda
and
Talibandetainees
confirm.
that
t h~
applicat
Lorr-of
the
Geneva
convention
Relative
to
the
Treatment
'of
p~isoners.of
War
of
August
12,·
1949
(Geneva)
to
the
conflict
with
al
Qaeda
and
theTaliban
involves
complex
legal
questions.
By'its
terms,
Geneva
applies
to
conflicts
involving
"High
Contracting
Parties,"
which
can
only
be
states.
Moreover,
it
assumes
the
existenceof
lfregular
ll
armed
forces
fighting
'on
behalf
of
states.
However,
the
war
aga1nstterrorism
ushers
in
anew
paradigm,
one
in
which
groups
with
broad,'
international
reach
commit
horrifie
'acts
against
innocent
civilians,
sometimes
.with
the
direct
support
of
states.
Our
Nation
recognizes
that
this
new
paradigm
--
ushered
in
not
by
us,
but
by
terrorists
.
requires
new
thinking
in
the
law
of
war,
butthinking
that
.should
nevertheless
be
consistent
withthe
principles
of
Geneva.
.
------_
..
_-------------~--------
CIA
4-002
6.
..
".;
2
exercise
that
authority
at
this
time.Accordingly,
I
determine
that
the
provisions
of
Geneva
will
apply
to
ourpresent
conflict
with
the
Taliban.
I
reservethe
right
'to
exercise
this
authority
in
this
or
future
,conflicts.
c.
I
also
accept
the
legal
conclusion
of
the
'Department
ofJustice
and
determine
that
common
Article·)
of
Geneva
,
does
notapply
to
either
al
Qaeda
or
TalipanOdetainees,
b e c a u s e ~
among
other
reasons,
therelevant
,conflicts
are
international
in
scope
and
common
Article
'3
applies
only
to
"armed
conflict
not
of
an
internationalcharacter."
d.
Based
on
the
facts
s u p p l ~ e d , b y
the
Department
of
Defense
and
the
recommendation
·of
the
Department
of
Justice,
I
determine
that
the
,Taliban
detainees
are
unlawful
combatants
and,
therefore,
do
not
qualify
as
prisonersof
war
under
Article
4
of
Geneva.
I
note
that,
because
Geneva
does
not
'apply
to
our
conflict
with
al
Qaeda,
,al
Qaeda
detainees
also
do
not
qualify
as
prisoners
of
war.
3.
Of
course,
our
valuesas
a
Nation,
values
that
we
share
with
many
nations
in'the
world,
call
for
us
to
treat
detainees
humaneLy,
includingthose
who
are
,not
legally
entitled
to
such
treatment.
Our
Nationhas
been
and
will
continue
to
be
a
strongsupporter
of
Geneva,
and
its
principles.
As
a
mat
ce
r
of
policy,
.theUnited
States
Armed.
Forces
shall
continue
to
treat
detainees
h u m a ~ e l y
~ n d ,
to
the
extentappropriate
and
consistent
with
m i ~ i t a r y
necessity,
in
,a
manner
consistent
with
the
principles
of
Geneva.
4.
The
,United
Stateswill
hold
states,
organizations,
and
i n d i v i d u a l ~
who
gain
control
of
O ~ i t e d
States
personnel
,responsible
for
t ~ e a t i n g
suph
personnel
humanelyand
consistent·with
applioable
law.
'
5.
I
h ~ r e b y
reaffirm'the
orderpreviously
issued
by
the
Secretary
of
Defense
to
the
United
States
Armed
Forces
requiring
that
thedetainees
be
treated
humanely
and,
to
the
extent
appropriate
~ n d
consistent
with
military
necessity,
in
'a
manner
,consistent
with
the
principles
of
Geneva,.I
hereby
'direct
theSecretary
of
Stateto
communicate
my
determinations
in
an
appropriate
manner
to
our
allies,
and
other
countries
and
international
organizations
cooperating
in
the
war
againstterrorism
of
global
reach,'
CIA4-002
THB
WHITE
H O U ~ E
Office
of
the
Press
secretary
For
Immediate
Release
FACTSHEST
Februa:r:y7,2002
Statusof
Detaiuees
at
Guantanamo
.'
~ : ~ . '
•
United
States'PolicY.
•The
United
States
is
treating
and
will
continue
to
treat
'all
ofthe
individuals
detained
at
Guantanamo
humanelyand,
to
theextent
appropriate
and
consistent
with
m ~ l i t a r y
.necessity,
in
amanner
consistent
with
theprinciples
of
the
Third
Geneva
Convention
of
1949.•The
President
hasdetermined
that
the
Geneva
Convention
applies
to
the
T a l i ~ a n
detainees,
but
'not
to
the
al-Qaida
d e t ~ i n e e s .
.•
A l ~ Q a i d a
ia
not
a
state
party
to
the
Geneva
Convention;
it
is
a
foreign'
terrorist
group.
As
such,
ita
members
are
not
entitled
to
POW
status.
,.
Although
we
never
~ e c o g n i z ~ d
theTaliban
as
the
legitimate
Afghan
government,
Afghanistan
is
a
partyto
the
convention,
and
the
~ r e s i d e n t
has
determined
thatthe
Taliban
are
covered
by
the
Convention,
Under
the
termsof
the
Geneva
Convention,
hQwever,
the
Taliban
detainees
do
not
qualify
as
POWs.
•
Therefore;
neither
the
Taliban
nor
al-Qaida
detainees
are
entitled
to
POW
status.
•
Even
though
the
detainees
are
not
entitled
to
POW
privileges,
they
will
be
p ~ o v i d e d
many
POW
privileges
asa
matter
of
policy
•
.
All
detainees
at
,Guantanamo
are
b ~ i n g
provided;
,.
•
three
meals
a
day
that
meet
Muslim
dietary
laws
•
water
•
medical
care
•
clothing
and
shoes
•
shelter
•
showers
•
soap
and
toilet
articles
'c
rc
c
Itll-1
..
_ , _ . - - _ . _ . ~ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
CIA
4-002
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