[headsplice]

So, we arrive at the crix of the problem: We're involved in a political war that is being prosecuted as a military war. The fact is that we haven't declared war on anyone that we're keeping as "unlawful enemy combatants," so Maggie is, under the letter of the law, halfway correct. Since they aren't soldiers for a foreign power, they aren't protected by the Geneva Conventions.
The flip side of that argument is that if they aren't soldiers, then they're civilians and criminals, and should be prosecuted as such. The Bush Administration is trying to have it's cake and eat it, too. You can't say: "We're at war with these people" and then turn around and say, "They aren't soldiers so we can do whatever we want."