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An enemy combatant has historically referred to members of the armed forces of the state with which another state is at war.^[1][2] In the case of a civil war or an insurrection the term "enemy state" may be replaced by the more general term "Party to the conflict" (as described in the 1949 Geneva Conventions Article 3).^[3]

In the 1942 Supreme Court of the United States ruling Ex Parte Quirin the court uses the terms with their historical meanings to distinguish between unlawful combatants and lawful combatants:

Unlawful combatants are likewise subject to capture and detention, but in addition they are subject to trial and punishment by military tribunals for acts which render their belligerency unlawful. The spy who secretly and without uniform passes the military lines of a belligerent in time of war, seeking to gather military information and communicate it to the enemy, or an enemy combatant who without uniform comes secretly through the lines for the purpose of waging war by destruction of life or property, are familiar examples of belligerents who are generally deemed not to be entitled to the status of prisoners of war, but to be offenders against the law of war subject to trial and punishment by military tribunals.(Emphasis added)

In the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks the United States Congress passed a resolution known as the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) on September 18, 2001^[4]. In this, Congress invoked the War Powers Resolution. Using this authorization granted to him by Congress, on November 13, 2001, President Bush issued a Presidential Military Order: "Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War Against Terrorism"^[5]. The administration chose to call those who it detained under the Presidential Military Orders "enemy combatants". Since then the administration has formalized its usage of enemy combatant by using the term specifically for detained alleged members and supporters of al Qaida or the Taliban. For example

Under the provisions of the Secretary of the Navy Memorandum Implementation of Combatant Status Review Tribunal Procedures for Enemy Combatant Detained at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base Cuba ... An enemy combatant has been defined as "an individual who was part of or supporting the Taliban or al Qaida forces, or associated forces that are engaged in hostilities against the United States or its coalition partners. This includes any person who committed a belligerent act or has directly supported hostilities in aid of enemy armed forces." ^[6]

This lead has been followed by other parts of the Government and some section of the American news media. The result of this new usage means that the term "enemy combatant" has to be read in the context of the article in which it appears as to whether it means a member of the armed forces of an enemy state, or if it means an alleged member of al Qaida held prisoner by the United States.

On June 11, 2007, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in a case involving Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a Qatar citizen held on US soil as an enemy combatant. The court found that the Military Commissions Act cannot deny al-Marri his constitutional rights to challenge his accusers. The court ruled that al-Marri must be released from military detention to either be freed or to be placed in US civilian detention where the federal government would have to charge him with crimes.[1]

Under current US law, no compensation is necessary for action taken under war powers act.^{[citation needed]}

• Disarmed Enemy Forces
• Unlawful enemy combatant
• al-Marri v. Wright
• Enemy combatant (book)

1. ^ Detention of Enemy Combatants Act (Introduced in House) 109th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1076 March 3, 2005

   (8) The term 'enemy combatant' has historically referred to all of the citizens of a state with which the Nation is at war, and who are members of the armed force of that enemy state. Enemy combatants in the present conflict, however, come from many nations, wear no uniforms, and use unconventional weapons. Enemy combatants in the war on terrorism are not defined by simple, readily apparent criteria, such as citizenship or military uniform. And the power to name a citizen as an 'enemy combatant' is therefore extraordinarily broad. (Emphasis added)

2. ^ The current United States Department of Defense definition is "Any person in an armed conflict who could be properly detained under the laws and customs of war."(source DOD dictionary enemy combatant)
3. ^ ICRC commentary on Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949: Part I : General provisions: Conflicts no of an international character
4. ^ US Congress' joint resolution of September 18, 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force ("AUMF"); public law 107-40, 115 Stat. 224
5. ^ President George W. Bush's Military Order of November 13, 2001: Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War Against Terrorism; 66 FR 57833
6. ^ Summary of Evidence for Combatant Status Review Tribunal - Detainee Begg, Moazzam

• Daniel Torres An Examination of the Legal Rights of American Citizens Detained as Enemy Combatants in the War on Terror
• Read Congressional Research Service (CRS) Reports regarding Enemy Combatants
• Daniel Ross, Violent Democracy, ch. 6.
• Kuwaiti Family Committee is a site with details about the Kuwaiti detainees. They have been deemed enemy combatants by the US government.

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