Labeling detainees unlawful combatants stripped them of Geneva Convention protections.

Evidence

An especially consequential decision was the labeling of detainees as “unlawful combatants” rather than prisoners of war. Yoo (2003) argued that the Geneva Conventions did not protect them. … These memos, laying the legal foundation for torture in intricate legalese, were accepted by Attorney General John Ashcroft, who later rescinded them … The torture policy was eventually revoked, but the torturous practices continued. — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2399

Categorization

• DEFINE: The ‘unlawful combatant’ designation is a legal category that effectively outsourced detainees from POW protections, a concept central to the argument.