A defining guideline of ethical rules regarding the treatment of POWs, the Geneva Convention was binding to not just the United States but to 192 other nations into civil and humane treatment. The Geneva Convention clearly states "No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to extract from them information" (TC 27-10-3, The law of War, 1995, p. 9). Although signed on paper, actions spoke louder than the written word. Violations have been apparent from WWII to present day fighting in the war on global terrorism. There is great evidence of nations treating POWs inhumanely even under the strict guidelines signed and binding to humane treatment.

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