good point, no, propagandists are not active combatants, because they do not engage in combat (unless they are also soldiers). this kind of thinking follows from the idea that civilians contributing to the economy of a warring country could by the same logic be deemed combatants, which would be undesirable for the intetests of minimizing civillian loss
yeah i mean this really aint serious so just for the sake of theoreticals if we say that for whatever reason dropping enemy combatants from altitude is your only/most effective form of combat then it may be justified, however if done for any other reason it would be in violation of the following international law:
"Persons taking no active part in the hostilities… shall in all circumstances be treated humanely… the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:
- (a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture…"
— Common Article 3, Geneva Conventions of 1949
Article 8(2)(b)(xxi):
“Committing outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment;”
Article 8(2)(b)(xxv):
“Employing means of warfare which are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering;”
Article 8(2)(a)(i):
“Wilful killing” of persons protected under the Geneva Conventions is a war crime.
Rule 70: Weapons or methods of warfare which are of a nature to cause superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering are prohibited.
Rule 90: Torture, cruel or inhuman treatment and outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment, are prohibited.
and also you should have a moral obligation to treat humans humanely, if nothing else, but thats just my opinion
‘you have become the very thing you swore to destroy’
i agree that the morality of the situation is foggy and may feel in conflict with established law, and i in no way intend to make an appeal to authority and say that these laws define what morality on the battlefield is, i just felt like pointing out the technical blemish of the meme