The Daily Telegraph quoted Ministry of Defense officials, saying the SAS (Special Air Service) is on the ground and taking part in the battle for Tripoli.

Not only that, but the British officials admit they’ve had “boots on the ground” for several weeks.  The British SAS dress like civilians and use the same weapons the rebels are using.

It is a violation of the Geneva and Hague Conventions, for soldiers to dress like civilians.

Under the Geneva Convention, soldiers who wear civilian clothes are considered “illegal combatants”, and can be treated the same way that the United States is treating prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay (GITMO), and other prisons in Afghanistan, Iraq and other secret locations.  A “legal combatant” must wear a uniform, or an obvious sign indicating they are a government soldier.

The Hague Convention states that soldiers “…have a fixed distinctive emblem recognizable at a distance.”

However the Hague Convention says any civilians defending their territory from invasion (like the U.S. invading Afghanistan & Iraq) are considered “legal combatants” even if they’re wearing civilian clothes.  If captured they must be treated as an official “Prisoner of War”, under Hague Convention POW rules, as a uniformed soldier would be treated.

Since Libya was not invaded, under the Hague Convention the civilian rebels are not allowed the same rights as a uniformed soldier, even if the rebels are wearing a uniform.

The rebels have been officially recognized by many countries, giving the Trans National Council the status of a government.  This means the TNC should have issued some kind of standardized uniform, or sign, for their “soldiers” to be legal under international law.  On top of that they are not defending from an outside invader.

So, the Libyan rebels, and the civilian clothed British SAS, are “illegal combatants”.  After all, isn’t the United States about the rule of law?