Secretary of State Colin “Powell [argued] that the Geneva Conventions should apply to al Qaeda and the Taliban. In a January 25 [2002] memo to [presidential counsel Alberto] Gonzales, he contended that the no-holds-barred approach would ‘reverse over a century of U.S. policy and practice…and undermine the protections of the law of war for our troops, both in this specific conflict and in general.’ He also warned of significant ‘negative international reaction,’ which would make ‘military cooperation more difficult to sustain.’ ”
– Eugene Jarecki, The American Way of War, Page 82