On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 19:30:27 +0000 (UTC), "William Black"
wrote:


"Michael P. Reed" wrote in message
.. .
In message , "William Black" wrote:

The rules were changed to stop people like the Nazis shooting resistance
fighters out of hand.

Now if the polkadot head dress was a distinctive one...

Hmmm, would one have to treat S.P.E.C.T.R.E under the rules and laws of
war?
They *were* uniformed, but in an otherwise stateless "army." Al Qaeda
basically being the same. In a way, "land" pirates.

Same way you treat pirates or any other criminal conspiracy that wear a
uniform (Hell Angles seem to fit as well)

The operative word here is CRIMINAL...

You don't go to war against criminals, you arrest them and put them on
trial, and if found guilty you punish them...

I wonder whether the difference between a criminal conspiracy
that gets the law and one that gets war isn't mostly size. Which
rules they get after capture seems to be something of a political
decision.

(Certainly the navy was needed to deal with pirate bases at times
in the past.)
____

Peter Skelton