How could the conventions be extended to al-Qaeda if it attacks civilians?
This would be a problem as the conventions outlaw any attack directed solely or mainly at civilians, which is what al-Qaeda specialises in. And to gain POW status, combatants have to follow the conventions. One idea would be that an international terrorist ignoring such rules of war might be liable to detention without having the full protection of POW status. Do the Geneva Conventions cover the Guantanamo Bay prisoners? Some argue that they should, but the US says that they do not, on the grounds that the prisoners are “unlawful combatants” and are not in the categories listed for protection by the Third Convention. The US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales once called the Geneva Conventions “quaint”. However, the US also says that the prisoners are treated in accordance with the “principles” of the Third Convention and other humanitarian law. By denying them formal POW status, the US is free to interrogate them, something prohibited by the Third Convention, which requires POWs to give
