While it is not quite possible to look into the heads of the operators, targeters, and the chain of command, the documents that have been publicly available for some time, as well as the actions of the allied governments paint a clear picture:<p>Non-combatants are targeted as a matter of course, deliberately in double-tap attacks, in &quot;signature&quot; strikes, and targetting of public gatherings such as weddings and funerals. Morover, the intended and collateral casualties can not only be seen in hindsight, but right there on the target acquisition screen.<p>The US government does not prosecute war crimes committed by its own citizens, no matter how egregious, or how public they have become. What you are asking is the kind of certainty that comes with some investigation. It is hard to see when you don&#x27;t want to look. The scraps that the likes of Greenwald have managed to piece together (largely documented in reportages for <i>The Intercept</i>) are very damning, but the whole picture must be even worse. Do you really mean it that you don&#x27;t see how civilians are deliberately targeted?<p>We should have an objective in these wars, which is something that we&#x27;ve never had. If there is nothing that we want to achieve apart from fighting terror with terror forever, and in the process shuttering civil liberties at home, we should leave.