> Military Aged Males are considered enemy combatants. Effectively that means all males ages 18-49 are considered enemy combatants. Since you're guilty by association, your age makes you a target.
As an American citizen I'm so ashamed that we do this.
Arguably you wouldn't object to taking out nearly any random person on the other side of the world who you didn't know personally. That's not the point.
It's a lot easier to just randomly assassinate people across the world than to come up with a sound policy that protects our interest while also obeying our values as a people. Historically, western culture has not condoned execution without trial.
The notion of just lumping anyone within an age range into the category of combatants is so antithetical to what the US ought to stand for, that it's really quite shameful. It's only a small degree away from the ethos of so-called terrorists, who just try to kill anyone they can.
What it boils down to is that the US is practicing terrorism abroad. I'm sure there would be circumstances where I'd approve of drastic measures, but at this point I'm very far from convinced that such tactics are remotely necessary or appropriate.
As an American citizen I'm so ashamed that we do this.