The law is the Geneva Convention which means they should not be tortured, held in stress positions, interrogated... Article III Of the 3rd Convention is the only article of the Geneva Conventions that applies in non-international conflicts. It describes minimal protections which must be adhered to by all individuals within a signatory's territory during an armed conflict not of an international character (regardless of citizenship or lack thereof): Noncombatants, combatants who have laid down their arms, and combatants who are hors de combat (out of the fight) due to wounds, detention, or any other cause shall in all circumstances be treated humanely , including prohibition of outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment . The passing of sentences must also be pronounced by a regularly constituted court, affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples . Article 3's protections exist even if one is not classified as a prisoner of war . Article 3 also states that parties to the internal conflict should endeavour to bring into force, by means of special agreements, all or part of the other provisions of GCIII. The reason we write laws in civilised societies is so that there is a consistent basis of fairness on which decisions can be made. To decide to ignore the rules when they are a bit inconvenient is therefore a mark of an uncivilised society. To fail to work by the rules because you say the other side will not obey them is also wrong because it will mean that in the future other people will not obey the rules because they were broken with impunity in the past. This means that creating the 'illegal combatants' category was wrong. The fact that this was done breached the convention. The fact that your Government allowed this is an embarrassment to the free world. It could mean that we should not consider the US to be a civilised country. The fact that your Government allowed torture is an embarrassment to the free world. The fact that your Government allowed Guantanamo to happen, and to continue is an embarrassment to the free world. On that basis alone Bush IS a War Criminal . And Obama is an accessory after the fact.
Posted by TimReynolds

So Tim,   you speak of Torture,  where is your proof of this Torture?   were you present at Abu-Grahib,  or Guantonomo,  or anywhere else?   Provide Proof!     Not hearsay!   DuaneF In Response to Re: Bush and Blair accused of War Crimes :
Posted by DuaneF

Look, I think that you two should just kiss and make up. Duane has proved beyond any doubt that there is no doubt and Tim has proven that Bill and Ben, The Flower Pot Men were guilty of crimes against aphids and garden compost. At times we just  have to be gracious. I have tried to be the intermediary here, coming in with some objective facts of history as written by America and its allies and not by Germany, the Sudetenland or the Baltic States, not to mention Joseph Stalin and the Beach Boys. Yes, Tony got it wrong a few times and so what if a few mlllion Iraqis died for truth, freedom and faster than speeding 50 cal. It is all over now and we won and the oil wells are pumping again... ah yes that sound of those machines rhythmically slurping up black gold, Texas T and the old life of the Beverely Hill Billies again. Sheik man, sheik, this is rhythm man. Hotter than the DMZ, Hannoi Hannah and chillie con carne. As for the Dyslexic One, George Bubbya, may his name be enscribed immortal on the Column of Hammurabi, as the Mighty One who left his footprint, yes Bigfoot in the Sands of Babylon and left his syncopated Morse Code of his tongue  for all to fathom....
Posted by Odysseus

In Response to Re: Bush and Blair accused of War Crimes :  Ouch! Did my previous commetns hurt you? Looks like you don't have an answer to the questions raised and hence the abusive language. I would advice you to take your eyes off your idiot box and try  sources of  information other than Fox news, CNN and CBS. Where should i start ? If we are such an insignificant speck in this universe why were your politicians and Military begging us to re-open the NATO supply routes for the last eight months? Why do you ask us to be part of every International Conference on Afghanistan?   Wasn't ISI your best buddy during the Afghan War for 10 years? Why this change of heart now? Oh was it because ISI has started identifying your crook CIA operatives in Pakistan like Raymond Davis and Traitors like Shakeel Afridi. As for OBL, We all are also releived that he is no longer here but he WAS Americas creation to begin with. Go and see Michael Moore's "Farenheit 9/11"" which shows meeting between the War criminal Dick Cheney and OBL in 1980's. As for the Nuclear Bomb comment, i know it hurts to see a Musim country acquire the nuclear technology, specially when your ALL POWERFUL US president Bill Clinton rang up Pakistani Primeminister Nawaz FIVE TIMES and asked him not to go ahead with the detonations. And guess what he said? Buzz off Yankee. This is our country and we know how to run it. Read  Odysseus  comments . You have NO right to be global peace keeper and are no longer incharge now, especially with a 14 Trillion dollars  debt , slow economy and ever increasing burden of veterans of two illegal wars. 
Posted by drrathore