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About that "Geneva Convention" ... (Re-post)
Something I read on 2Slick's site a little bit ago (the subject of my next post after this one) made me remember I'd posted this last November (here) and then failed to follow up on it. I'm going to repost it now, with minor modifications, and then I'm going to actually do the follow-up posts this time that I promised and didn't deliver before.
Note: I discovered just as I was ready to post this that the Army has moved the online version of FM 27-10 to a different URL since last November. I think I've fixed all of the links in my post; if not, you should be able to track down everything I've linked to from the base address for the document.
I've been hearing the term "Geneva Convention" a lot lately, usually in statements such as "Shelling/bombing that mosque violated the Geneva Convention" or "Captured insurgents are supposed to be handled in accordance with the Geneva Convention." Just so you know before we go on, my reaction to 98% of those comments is "Bull shit!" Most of the people saying things like that have never bothered to check into what the documents they're referring to really say. If they'd done even the most basic checking, they'd know, among other things that there is no document called "The Geneva Convention."
My authority for all statements of fact in this post is U.S. Army Field Manual 27-10, which is available online in .html format here, or in .pdf format here. FM 27-10 defines the Law Of Land Warfare as agreed to by the government of the United States of America, in accordance with appropriate international treaties. Maybe a look at the Foreword from that document will help you understand what documents (plural) we're really talking about. FOREWORD
A list of the treaties relating to the conduct of land warfare which have been ratified by the United States, with the abbreviated titles used in this Manual, is set forth in the abbreviations section of this manual. The official English texts or a translation of the principal treaty provisions are quoted verbatim in bold type in the relevant paragraphs throughout the Manual. It should be noted, however, that the official text of the Hague Conventions of 18 October 1907 is the French text which must be accepted as controlling in the event of a dispute as to the meaning of any provision of these particular conventions. (See TM 27-251.)
The 1949 Geneva Conventions for the Protection of War Victims have been ratified by the United States and came into force for this country on 2 February 1956. The effect of these four conventions upon previous treaties to which the United States is a party is discussed in detail in paragraph 5 of the text. Each of the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 and each of the Geneva Conventions of 1864, 1906, and 1929 will, of course, continue in force as between the United States and such of the other parties to the respective conventions as have not yet ratified or adhered to the later, superseding convention(s) governing the same subject matter. Moreover, even though States may not be parties to, or strictly bound by, the 1907 Hague Conventions and the 1929 Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the general principles of these conventions have been held declaratory of the customary law of war to which all States are subject. For this reason, the United States has adopted the policy of observing and enforcing the terms of these conventions in so far as they have not been superseded by the 1949 Geneva Conventions which necessarily govern the relations between the parties to the latter (see pars. 6 and 7 of the text).
The essential provisions of each of the earlier conventions mentioned above have been substantially incorporated into the more recent and more comprehensive conventions on the same subject matter, so that observance of the latter will usually include observance of the former. For this reason, only the more recent 1949 Geneva Conventions and the relevant provisions of the 1907 Hague Conventions are quoted in this Manual.
Pertinent information concerning the current status of ratifications, adherences, reservations, and denunciations (withdrawals) will be transmitted by higher authority to commanders in the field, as occasions, arise, thus rendering unnecessary the inclusion of such data in this Manual, and avoiding the frequent changes that such inclusion would entail.
Whenever possible, this Manual should be used in conjunction with TM 27-251, Treaties Governing Land Warfare.
FM 27-5, Civil Affairs/Military Government, which deals with military government policy and administration, should be consulted in connection with chapter 6 of the present Manual.
So, as you can see, in fact we're talking about a set of documents, not one. FM 27-10, which has been incorporated via orders from the appropriate Department of Defense authorities into the field doctrine of the U.S Army and U.S. Marine Corps, defines what is expected of our Soldiers and Marines when we send them off to war.
(I'm putting just this much of this post on my blog now so you'll know to come back and look at the rest of it later. This post will grow substantially within the next few hours, possibly, and definitely within the next few days.)
Instead of adding to this post like I'd planned to before I'm going to do one or more follow up posts soon and see if I can educate at least a handful of people about what the Geneva Conventions do and don't really cover. (Hint: They don't provide Islamic Terrorists with nearly as many rights as the MSM and a bunch of anti-American leftist (pardon my redundancy) bloggers and academic types would like you to think they do.)
Update: I still intend to do the follow-up posts I promised but I'm going to have to work hard at it to improve on Beth's post here. Do go read it.
Linking to Mudville's latest Open Post, Stop The ACLU's Weekend Open Trackback Party, OTB's Beltway Traffic Jam and The Political Teen's Open Trackbacks: Saturday post.
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