AP
Detainees at Guantanamo, Cuba base

Bush administration officials are locked in a heated debate over how to classify al-Qaida and Taleban prisoners captured in Afghanistan.

The National Security Council is set to debate the issue Monday.

On Sunday, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Camp X-Ray at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the 158 prisoners are being held. He said they are the best-trained, most dangerous and vicious killers in the world, and will not be considered regular prisoners of war. But the State Department has asked that the Geneva Conventions be applied to the men, who are now considered to be unlawful combatants - a classification that allows U.S. interrogators to question them extensively about possible future terrorist operations.

Vice President Dick Cheney said on Fox television Sunday that Secretary of State Colin Powell wants re-classify the detainees as prisoners of war to ensure any captured U.S. military personnel are treated as prisoners of war. U nder the Geneva Conventions, prisoners of war are not required to divulge information about future military operations. But they must be captured wearing some kind of uniform, while carrying arms openly, and while conducting operations in accordance with the laws and customs of war.

Some U.S. allies and human rights groups have criticized both the treatment and status of the al-Qaida and Taleban captives.

The criticism was sparked by photographs showing them shackled, kneeling, and wearing ear-muffs and blacked-out goggles. U.S. officials insist the prisoner treatment meets all international requirements.

Some information for this report provided by AP.

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