The Geneva Conventions are a set of international laws that protected American soldiers from any ill-treatment incase of capture. The United States has always had an abiding stance on the Geneva Conventions, and has tried to continue to uphold the laws within this doctrine to an even higher standard. This document protects American soldiers, and it is highly valued by many Americans. In 1949 as a response to the end of World War II the Geneva Conventions were signed by over a hundred countries including the United States. They were laws established to protect prisoners of war from torture, and any inhumane treatment. After September 11th the U.S waged war against Afghanistan in hopes of destroying the organization behind the attacks of 9/11. It was here when the Geneva Conventions were put into question as to how they applied to al-Qaeda. John Yoo along with the Justice Department would maintain their stance against the application of the Geneva Conventions to The War on Terror because al-Qaeda never signed or agreed to the it terms; therefore, the U.S was able to use unconventional methods against them, in other words; total war. President Bush would declare that the Geneva Conventions did not apply to al-Qaeda and the War on Terror only months after 9/11. This would be the first time in American history that the Geneva Conventions were inapplicable.
