Stardate 20020224.2023

(On Screen): Among the many captives at Guantanamo are several British citizens. At least one of them was given the opportunity to write a letter to his parents. As they say, no good deed goes unpunished; the letter happens to have been labeled "Prisoner of war mail".

Solicitor Louise Christian said: ""This is very important, because if they are being recognised as prisoners of war they should be released immediately as hostilities have now ceased."

There are only two problems with that: they have not been recognized as prisoners of war, and hostilities have not ceased.

Hostilities haven't even ceased in Afghanistan; we're continuing operations there. But even if we had stopped, Afghanistan was not the war. It was the first major battle of the war, which is not over. As long as al Qaeda continues to be a threat, we cannot in good conscience release their soldiers to rejoin them and fight against us again.

The Law Society and Bar Council sought the opinion of three experts in international law, who concluded that the prisoners, labeled "unlawful combatants", are entitled to rights such as access to lawyers.

Unless those three experts have been confirmed by the Senate as United States Federal Judges, their opinions have exactly zero legal significance.