In July 1977, representatives of the United States and several other countries met in Geneva, Switzerland, and initialed two diplomatic protocols prior to formal ratification in each of the signatory countries. Protocol II deals with the treatment of prisoners captured in wars within one country; thus, it applies to guerrillas, terrorists, and insurgents. The protocol grants prisoner-of-war status to captured terrorists just as if they were soldiers of conventional armies, providing that the terrorist fulfill the requirements specified in the protocol. The terrorist must be properly identified as belonging to a political insurgency, must attack and kill only governmental targets, must be captured by governmental forces, and must be confined to a prisoner-of-war camp. As a prisoner of war, the terrorist is eligible for prisoner exchange. Although Protocol II may fail to gain ratification by the signatory nations who negotiated its terms, terrorists are aware of its existence and seek its de facto application in all cases when they are taken prisoner by governmental forces. The protocol has been invoked by terrorists in Chicago, Illinois, and in Northern Ireland. The protocol would rank as an international treaty, therefore superseding State and Federal law. It appears certain that more people will die because of Protocol II than would be saved by its provisions, because the protocol will make control of insurgencies more difficult.