AQ affiliates literally cannot be "military combatants", even were that a meaningful term; there is no "military" for them to be associated with. The state-sanctioned killing of non-military persons is definitionally execution. That we apply this to people who may or may not have committed crimes (and, let's be honest with ourselves, "may not" is no less likely given the vague targeting used by our military forces) with no oversight or due process is 'unlawful execution' from where I stand.
We will someday answer for the evil we currently perpetuate in Afghanistan. If we are moral, we will be the ones holding ourselves to task for it. I doubt that we are of sufficient fiber.
Look, the executive branch is empowered by Congress to engage in military action against Al Qaeda by the AUMF. You may not like this, but since it's been in place for >11 years now perhaps you could make your argument in the context of the existing legal framework. For example, if you think the AUMF is unconstitutional you could argue that, or if you think it is constitutional but the executive's actions are outside the scope of the AUMF you could tell us why. I don't see how we can discuss this meaningfully without agreeing on some terms of reference.
We will someday answer for the evil we currently perpetuate in Afghanistan. If we are moral, we will be the ones holding ourselves to task for it. I doubt that we are of sufficient fiber.