First, a brief background of the events on which this division of policy is based will be given in this paper, followed by Secretary Rumsfeld's ideals and arguments, then those of Secretary Powell. We will then look at the policy decisions President Bush has made on this topic, and how the international community could perceive said policy.

Let us look at the situation in Cuba and the decisions facing President Bush. Right now there are approximately three hundred detainees being held by United States forces at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, Cuba. Now, one might ask why these prisoners are being classified as detainees and not as prisoners of war. The United States is en

Secretary Powell, being a former general and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, understands the consequences of both roads; his and Rumsfeld's. One has to realize that one of the major tenants of the Department of State's mission is to represent the views of foreign states to the executive for the matters of the formation of policy.

Americans have always considered themselves to be tough on crime and tough on their enemies. That, simply put, is why the Rumsfeld policy is currently winning out over the Powell policy. The events of September 11th have served to reignite that hard-line attitude in many Americans, including in the political elite. This has caused pressure to be put on the administration to act accordingly.

The 'camp' referred to as Donald Rumsfeld's includes Vice President Dick Cheney and Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. They share the common view that the prisoners detained in Cuba, and in Afghanistan, are not Prisoners of War. According to the Geneva Convention, a prisoner of war is a person who is a lawful, armed combatant of a uniformed military, belonging to a sovereign state. Rumsfeld will argue that the prisoners do not fit that definition. According to Dharam Shourie, on January 27, Secretary Rumsfeld visited camp X-Ray in Cuba to see for himself the conditions of the camp and was heard saying that, "...these prisoners were not combatants of an army in uniform. They were unlawful combatants and terrorists and hence they were detainees." This is the argument that Rumsfeld has been holding on to since the beginning, and others agree with him, such as Vice President Cheney. Vice President Cheney was quoted saying:

In one theory then, Secretary Powell is an ambassador to the President and is representing their views and concerns which could be a viable reason for the rift between Powell and Rumsfeld on this issue. Powell is portraying the views of our allies, while Rumsfeld is portraying the views of the American hard-nosed ideology.

Every American service member is required to memorize the six 'Codes of Conduct'. They are a guide on how one is expected to act during combat, and great emphasis is given to the topic of prisoner of war status. The fifth article of the code of conduct spells this, and the rules of the Geneva Convention out perfectly. It states:

On the international scene, many of our allies and partners are concerned about our treatment of the captives. For example, the United States government has not released the identities of any of the captives to date. It is believed, however that at least one Briton and two Australian nationals are among the detainees being held in Cuba. This raises quite the question for the administration. How is one to deal with a citi

Some common words found in the essay are:
Geneva Convention, President Bush, United Kingdom, Secretary Powell, Doctrine United, Briton Australian, Powell Rumsfeld, God President, X-Ray Cuba, Navy Seal, geneva convention, prisoner war, president bush, secretary powell, war status, prisoner war status, vice president, prisoners war, secretary colon powell, secretary rumsfeld, unlawful combatants, secretary defense, vice president cheney, captives prisoner war, president bush siding,
Approximate Word count = 1859
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)