Did the Department of Defense Just Go All Politically Correct in Describing Captured Enemies?

The Department of Defense just changed the wording of their categories for detainees. It’s a subtle adjustment with real implications.

This is a screen shot from the May 30, 2008 version of their Joint Publication 3-63 on Detainee Operations:



Note that of the three categories, the ones actively involved in fighting are referred to as “enemy combatants.”

Now this is a screen shot from the November 13, 2014 version:



Note the change from “enemy combatant” to “privileged belligerent and unprivileged belligerent.”

Apparently, the word “combatant” was no longer acceptable and was replaced with “belligerent.”

To give some context, the words “privileged” and “unprivileged” basically mean people who are members of regular armed forces and fight under traditional rules of combat, versus those who fight with non-traditional groups or in non-traditional manners.

Even so, the wording seems soft. Is this an example of finely-tuned language, or a submission to the politically correct notions that would rather avoid negative labels?

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