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Article: Enemy Combatant
- Article from:
- West's Encyclopedia of American Law
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ENEMY COMBATANT
Captured fighter in a war who is not entitled to prisoner of war status because he or she does not meet the definition of a lawful combatant as established by the
geneva convention;
a saboteur.
The U.S. war against terrorism that began after the september 11, 2001, attacks led to the invasion of Afghanistan, the toppling of the Taliban regime, and the aggressive dismantling of al-Qaeda terrorist strongholds within that country. Although many Taliban soldiers were released after the conclusion of the conflict, the United States took into custody over five hundred individuals they labeled
enemy combatants.
This designation, which is also referred to as
unlawful combatants
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