On the question of the Geneva Conventions, the brief argues, Judge Green's contention that Taleban detainees picked up in Afghanistan should have been presumed to have prisoner of war status is "inconsistent with the deference owed to the President as Commander-in-Chief" who had unilaterally decided otherwise.(6)

This brief is perhaps an unsurprising response from an administration whose outgoing Attorney General decried what he characterized as "intrusive judicial oversight and second-guessing of presidential determinations";(7) whose Justice Department formulated the position, accepted by the White House Counsel, that the President – who apparently believes that there are people who are "not legally entitled" to humane treatment(8) – could override the national and international prohibition on torture;(9) and whose Secretary of Defense has authorized interrogation techniques that violate international law and standards.(10) This is an administration that has sought unchecked power throughout the "war on terror" and shown a chilling disregard for international law. The USA's policies and practices have led to serious human rights violations and have set a dangerous precedent internationally.


USA's "war on terror" detainees, April 2005
(approximate totals/estimates)(11)
USA: Naval Brig, Charleston, South Carolina 2 "enemy combatants"
Cuba: Guantánamo Bay naval base 520
(234 releases/transfers)
Afghanistan: Bagram air base 300
Afghanistan: Kandahar air base 250
Afghanistan: other US facilities (forward operating bases) Unknown: estimated at scores of detainees
Iraq: Camp Bucca 6,300
Iraq: Abu Ghraib prison 3,500
Iraq: Camp Cropper 110
Iraq: Other US facilities 1,300
Worldwide: CIA facilities, undisclosed locations Unknown: estimated at 40 detainees
Worldwide: In custody of other governments at behest of USA Unknown: estimated at several thousand detainees
Worldwide: Secret transfers of detainees to third countries Unknown: estimated at 100 to 150 detainees
Foreign nationals held outside the USA and charged for trial 4
Trials of foreign nationals held in US custody outside the USA 0
Total number of detainees held outside the USA by the US during "war on terror" 70,000


The above is also from an Amnesty site. FYI.