AP
Detainees at Guantanamo, Cuba

President Bush says al-Qaida and Taleban detainees held at the U.S. naval base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba will not be granted prisoner of war status.

Mr. Bush said Monday the 158 detainees are not prisoners of war because the al-Qaida terrorist network is not a known military. He says the al-Qaida fighters are killers and terrorists who occupy countries "like a parasite."

Vice President Dick Cheney says U.S. forces are also holding more than 320 such detainees in Afghanistan.

Washington considers the detainees to be "unlawful combatants." This allows U.S. interrogators to question them extensively about possible future terrorist operations. Under international law, such as the Geneva Conventions, prisoners of war are not required to divulge information about future military operations.

Mr. Bush met Monday with members of his National Security Council to discuss the classification of the prisoners. He says he will soon announce the detainees' full legal status.

Mr. Bush says the detainees are being treated in the spirit of the Geneva Conventions. But human rights groups and others say the Bush administration is not giving the detainees their full rights. They say that without prisoner of war status, the detainees might have less ground to argue for humane treatment and fair trials.

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