http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/05/29/1095594/-WOW-to-avoid-counting-civilian-deaths-Obama-WH-reclassified-Militants-to-include-civilians#

“Obama himself simply expanded the definition of a “militant” to ensure that it includes virtually everyone killed by his drone strikes. ”

The claim is ridiculous because it says that everyone who died in a drone strike was a militant, regardless of whether they actually were or not. It essentially implies that these people were militants because they died. They may not have been militants before they died but they are declared militants now that they’re dead to justify their deaths to the world. The little girl who was standing by her father is now called a militant because she was killed in the strike as well. This claim serves the author’s purpose as the author as well as myself argue that calling a person a militant just because were at the wrong place at the wrong time is illogical.

“It in effect counts all military-age males in a strike zone as combatants…unless there is explicit intelligence posthumously proving them innocent.”

The fact that a person can be declared innocent after they are dead, does not change the fact that they are dead and essentially does nothing for them. At that point the government might as well just have left them as a combatant, since calling them innocent would not bring them back from the dead. This quote is effective at achieving the author’s goal as it shows the absurdity of re-categorizing people to suit a purpose. Changing the name or re-defining an incident should not change what happened.

“People in an area of known terrorist activity, or found with a top Qaeda operative, are probably up to no good. ”

“It’s easy to have a year of unmanned drone missile strikes where you don’t kill a single noncombatant when you declare that everyone you did kill was a militant”

“whoever we hit must have been a militant”

“We just need to redefine war as peace.”