Enemy combatant

Enemy combatant was the term preferred, by the George W. Bush Administration, for members of al-Qaeda, Taliban, and others it considered ineligible for prisoner of war status. The more common language is "unlawful combatant", a lawful combatant meeting the criteria, adjudicated by a "competent tribunal" if necessary, for POW eligibility. The term has been explictly rejected by the Obama Administration.

On February 7, 2002, George W. Bush wrote "I determined.... that members of al Qaeda, the Taliban, and associated forces are unlawful enemy combatants who are not entitled to the protections that the Third Geneva Convention provides to prisoners of war."

The critical criteria for lawful combatant status are, according to the Third Geneva Convention:
 * 1) Being commanded by a person responsible for his subordinates;
 * 2) Having a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance;
 * 3) Carrying arms openly;
 * 4) That of conducting their operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war

It was reasonably clear that al-Qaeda did not operate under these rules, although the situation was less clear for Taliban in Afghanistan.