This is pretty big news. Pentagon lawyers say that Saddam has been a prisoner of war since his capture. Colin Powell sounds like he isn't happy about it. He's just in denial.

Whether or not Saddam is a prisoner of war could be key to how he is treated in captivity and eventually put on trial. The Geneva Conventions on treatment of prisoners of war forbid any kind of coercion in POW interrogations, for example.

....The general counsel office in the Pentagon - the Defense Department's top civilian lawyers - has determined that Saddam is a prisoner of war because of his status as former commander in chief of Iraq's military, spokesman Maj. Michael Shavers said Friday. The lawyers determined that no formal declaration of Saddam's status was needed, he said.

More on the differences:

... the Geneva Conventions say POWs can be tried only for crimes against humanity by an international tribunal or the occupying power - which in this case is the United States....POW status also would entitle Saddam to meet with representatives from the International Committee of the Red Cross. No such meeting has happened. Some human rights groups have complained that other top former Iraqi officials in U.S. custody haven't been given access to Red Cross representatives.

Here is the full text of the Convention (III) relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949. For an explanation, go here.

The rules governing the treatment of prisoners of war are spelled out in the third Geneva Convention of 1949. The Convention requires that POW’s “must at all times be treated humanely,” and goes on to list a number of specific requirements: they must not be killed, seriously endangered, mutilated or subject to medical or scientific experiments. Furthermore, they must be protected against acts of violence or intimidation, and against “insults and public curiosity” (Article 13).