There is no reason to assume those loopholes mentioned were the definition of combatant found much later in the article, and it doesn't even say that they were

There is no reason to assume those loopholes mentioned were the definition of combatant found much later in the article, and it doesn't even say that they were new loopholes. Plus, your last link is the one I brought up that shows the policy started under Bush. I am well aware of the horrors of Obama's drone strikes, I am not defending him or his actions. Maintaining the definition is equally bad from my perspective, but it began under Bush.