• Candelestine@lemmy.world
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    9 months ago

    The US Manual for Military Commissions (2007) states: “Lawful enemy combatant” means a person who is:

    A) a member of the regular forces of a State party engaged in hostilities against the United States;

    B) a member of a militia, volunteer corps, or organized resistance movement belonging to a State party engaged in such hostilities, which are under responsible command, wear a fixed distinctive sign recognizable at a distance, carry their arms openly, and abide by the law of war; or

    C) a member of a regular armed force who professes allegiance to a government engaged in such hostilities, but not recognized by the United States.

    I would link to a primary source, but they’re all PDFs. So, this is from the Red Cross. There are additional requirements, but openly carrying arms is a big one.

    https://ihl-databases.icrc.org/fr/customary-ihl/v2/rule3

    edit for formatting

    • just2look@lemm.ee
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      9 months ago

      I’m not disagreeing about them being a combatant. I’m disagreeing that being a combatant gives the military carte blanche authority to kill you. Like I said, the rules of engagement can be very specific about how, when, where, and with who you are legally allowed to engage. Self defense is the only universal time the US military is allowed to use lethal force. Outside of that you follow the restrictions and force escalations parameters outlined in the ROE.