Jeremiah E. Goulka

This report finds parallels in U. S. prisoner and detainee operations in World War II, Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq: underestimation of the number to be held, hasty scrambling for resources, and inadequate doctrine and policy. Later, attempts to educate and influence prisoners and detainees are often made. The authors recommend that detailed doctrine should be in place prior to detention and that detainees should be surveyed when first detained.

The U. S. government classified members of the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MeK), a cult and designated foreign terrorist organization that was listed as an enemy force in Iraq, as civilian protected persons rather than combatant prisoners of war under the Geneva Conventions. A RAND study of this controversial decision recommends that MeK members be repatriated to Iran, which has promised amnesty to the group and appears to have upheld its commitment.