On October 7, 2001, less than one month after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, DC, the United States commenced conflict operations in Afghanistan, with the express purpose of removing the Taliban from power and capturing and destroying al Qaeda leaders, agents, and bases of activity and training.'By late November, the legal status and treatment of combatants captured in the new'Global War on Terror'(GWOT) became a matter of international debate and concern. However, in the succeeding five years, much of the controversy has shifted to the longterm detention, treatment and legal status of'enemy combatants', particularly those held in US custody in Guant~ namo Bay and other secret detention centers abroad. Commencing with a general discussion of the applicability of international humanitarian law (IHL) to the initial conflict in Afghanistan, this article will examine, through a close textual analysis, the original contours of this debate as it emerged in memoranda produced by key members of the Bush executive from the fall of 2001