It's Only Words - For Now

Semantics - what a quaint little concept, don’t you think? For years now, the U.S. Government honchos and assorted hacks hammered us with the “America is at War” shtick. Yet, according to same honchos and hacks, no way were the Gitmo military detainees (and those countless ones imprisoned around the World that we don’t know about) “Prisoners of War”.

Until Today. In a laconic press release, the White House just announced that the Gitmo detainees were now “Prisoners of War”, i.e. protected by the Geneva Conventions. So, the official semantics has shifted. But somehow, I have the feeling that the 450 Guantanamo Bay detainees’ daily life will not change overnight. Until further notice, it’s only words.

And that “shift in policy” certainly doesn’t change the fact that these detainees have been held for over 4 years without trial nor indictment.

For the whole story: BBC News

Dudley.