Enemy combatant is a term for a person who, either lawfully or unlawfully, engages in hostilities for the other side in an armed conflict, used by the U.S. government and media during the War on Terror.[1] Usually enemy combatants are members of the armed forces of the state with which another state is at war.[2][3] In the case of a civil war or an insurrection "state" may be replaced by the more general term "party to the conflict" (as described in the 1949 Geneva Conventions Article 3).[4]
After the September 11 attacks, the term "enemy combatant" was used by the George W. Bush administration to include an alleged member of al-Qaeda or the Taliban being held in detention by the U.S. government. In this sense, "enemy combatant" actually refers to persons the United States regards as unlawful combatants, a category of persons who do not qualify for prisoner-of-war status under the Geneva Conventions. However, unlike unlawful combatants who qualify for some protections under the Fourth Geneva Convention, enemy combatants, under the Bush administration, were not covered by the Geneva Convention. Thus, the term "enemy combatant" has to be read in context to determine whether it means any combatant belonging to an enemy state or non-state actor, whether lawful or unlawful, or if it means an alleged member of al-Qaeda or of the Taliban being detained as an unlawful combatant by the United States.
In the United States on March 13, 2009, the Obama administration announced its abandonment of the Bush administration's use of the term "enemy combatant".[5]
- ^ "The relevance of IHL in the context of terrorism". ICRC. January 1, 2011. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
- ^ Detention of Enemy Combatants Act (Introduced in House) 109th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1076 Archived 2016-01-10 at the Wayback Machine March 3, 2005
- (8) The term 'enemy combatant' has historically referred to all of the citizens of a state with which the Nation is at war, and who are members of the armed force of that enemy state. Enemy combatants in the present conflict, however, come from many nations, wear no uniforms, and use unconventional weapons. Enemy combatants in the war on terrorism are not defined by simple, readily apparent criteria, such as citizenship or military uniform. And the power to name a citizen as an 'enemy combatant' is therefore extraordinarily broad. (Emphasis added)
- ^ The current United States Department of Defense definition is: "In general, a person engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners during an armed conflict."(source DOD dictionary enemy combatant Archived March 25, 2012, at the Wayback Machine)
- ^ ICRC commentary Archived July 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine on Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949: Part I : General provisions: Conflicts no of an international character Archived March 22, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs (13 March 2009). "Department of Justice Withdraws "Enemy Combatant" Definition for Guantanamo Detainees [Press Release]". Justice News. Department of Justice. Archived from the original on April 13, 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2013.