“Secretary of State Colin Powell has asked President Bush to reverse the president’s position on al Qaeda and Taliban detainees and declare them prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention,” The Washington Times reports. “A four-page internal White House memorandum obtained yesterday by [the paper] shows that Mr. Powell made the request and that the president’s National Security Council plans to meet on the matter Monday morning.”

‘The secretary of state has requested that you reconsider that decision,’ White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales wrote yesterday in a memo to Mr. Bush. ‘Specifically, he has asked that you conclude that GPW [Geneva Convention II on the Treatment of Prisoners of War] does apply to both al Qaeda and the Taliban. I understand, however, that he would agree that al Qaeda and Taliban fighters could be determined not to be prisoners of war (POWs) but only on a case-by-case basis following individual hearings before a military board.’

The memo provides a rare glimpse of a major dispute inside the Bush White House on what has become one of the most contentious issues in the war in Afghanistan. Mr. Powell wants the president to reverse his position. But Mr. Gonzales and most, if not all, members of the president’s national security team are urging him not to retreat, according to the memo.

Mr. Bush decided Jan. 18 that hundreds of Taliban and members of Osama bin Laden’s al Qaeda army are detainees, not prisoners of war, and thus not subject to rights in the Geneva Convention. Human rights groups and some European politicians have protested the decision and have been especially critical of the living conditions for 158 detainees at the U.S. Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Aministration sources last night expressed anger at Mr. Powell, whom they accused of bowing to pressure from the political left. They said that if Mr. Bush heeds his secretary of state’s advice, the U.S. will have to provide detained terrorists with all sorts of amenities, including exercise rooms and canteens.

[…]In his memo to the president, Mr. Gonzales lays out his and the Justice Department’s reasons for recommending that Taliban and al Qaeda are not Geneva Convention prisoners of war. The White House counsel then lists what appear to be the State Department’s arguments for reversal.

Mr. Gonzales then writes, ‘On balance, I believe that the arguments for reconsideration and reversal are unpersuasive.’

The memo shows that Mr. Powell is not only running up against opposition at the White house, but also at the Justice Department.

Mr. Gonzales writes that the department’s Office of Legal Counsel ‘has opined that, as a matter of international law and domestic law, GPW does not apply to the conflict with Al Qaeda. OLC has further opined that you have the authority to determine that GPW does not apply to the Taliban. As I discussed with you, the grounds for such a determination may include … a determination that the Taliban and its forces were, in fact, not a government, but a militant, terrorist-like group.’

The White House counsel adds, ‘OLC’s interpretation of this legal issue is definitive. … Nevertheless, you should be aware that the legal adviser to the secretary of state has expressed a different view.’

Stunning! Powell’s complete transformation from stoic military commander to full-fledged artful dodger is just about complete. Let’s face it: Powell’s so intent on taking the temperature of coalition leaders, hysterical NGOs, and the European press, that he hasn’t even noticed how his own hand– still gripping the thermometer — has slipped in all the way to the elbow.

I doubt very much we’re detaining rank-and-file Taliban foot soldiers at Gitmo; instead, these combattants are, as Rumsfeld has doggedly insisted, “the worst of the worst” — none of whom fought for any internationally recognized “army.” In short, they don’t fit the profile for POWs, and so they aren’t entitled to Geneva protections.

Besides: There’s no reason I can think of that detainees can’t be treated humanely without recourse to the protections of the Geneva Convention. Mischaracterizing this particular enemy will doubtless open us up to all sorts of legal battles down the road, so the President would do well to hold his ground on this one — particularly considering Powell’s solution is mostly show, with little to recommend it in the way of substance.

[update: Yipeeeee! The Guardian has picked up the story!]

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