It's not up to the person arguing the status quo to prove the status quo. It's up to person with the extraordinary theory to provide the extraordinary evidence.
I hope you're not saying I'm one of them/a spook/lizardman. Because I really like this website and it depresses me that it's slowly being infected with the conspiracy mindset.
>It fits the definition of "combat" used by almost everyone. And basically no-one would define it as "execution". So there's your problem there.
A simple search would show you that your assertion is mere bravado and puffery, attempting to paint things in a black and white light. "Almost everyone" and "basically no-one" are weasel words. The issue is nuanced.
I am not arguing in favor or against calling it execution, just pointing out that your tactics are underhanded and trollish. The issue isn't as black and white as you want it to be and no amount of your cynicism or finger-pointing will change that.
The academic articles that you've glossed over explicitly point out that further attention needs to be given to the frameworks within which we look at drone tactics:
From the second academic journal link: "In targeted attacks, with surgical precision, key targets are picked off discriminately. This is far too reminiscent of murder, and does not give the target a proper right to defend themselves against the accusations or discrimination. This issue needs to be considered in further detail."
Note that this comes from an engineering journal, likely targeted at a similar audience as the crowd that makes up HN. It doesn't take any sort of farfetched opining to agree that the issue is more than just "Execution? T/F?".
I understand the social justice thrust of your argument, and I understand the political narrative that wishes to categorize this as "execution". Unfortunately no-one really agrees apart from your fellow-travellers on the extreme-left.
Two weeks later: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/anwar-...
Both of the above were US citizens killed by drones abroad. One of them was not even an adult yet, by US law.