Appeals ruling approves tribunal

By Jerry Seper, Washington Times

Geneva Conventions protections for prisoners of war do not apply to members of the al Qaeda terrorist network, a federal appeals court panel ruled yesterday, giving the Bush administration the green light for a military trial of Osama bin Laden's personal chauffeur.

In a major victory for President Bush, the three-judge panel of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said a joint resolution passed by Congress in the wake of the September 11 attacks authorized the president to use military commissions to try enemy combatants, including Yemeni national Salim Ahmed Hamdan.