Ignorance of US government officials who handle the Middle East

"And it announced a new wrinkle: It is also blacklisting pro-government militias accused of killing civilians as part of “the Assad regime’s campaign of terror and violence.” The militias, a Treasury Department statement said, would include what it called the shabiha and Jaish al-Sha’bi, or the People’s Army, which it said was created with the help of Mr. Assad’s allies Iran and the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah and modeled on Iran’s Basij militia. The Treasury Department singled out a shabiha leader, Ayman Jaber, as well as two other shabiha members, including Mahir al-Asad, who was accused along with Mr. Jaber of planning an attack on the United States Embassy in 2011. Apart from these designations,  it may be hard to define who exactly is blacklisted under the heading of “shabiha,” which is not the name of an organization but a catchall term for pro-government gangs." This is like listing thugs as a terrorist organizations.  By that definition, any thug around the world would be a legitimate target by US drones, I presume.  Of course, thugs only exist in countries that oppose US policies.