Re: Definition #3 . . .
From New World Dictionary of the American Language: Second College Edition:
warlord
1. a high military officer in a warlike nation
2. an aggressive tyrant
3. a local ruler or bandit leader, as formerly in China, with some sort of military following in a district where the established government is weak
Keep reading the term, know it's not nice, not sure how anyone gets to be a "warlord" unless it's just something a reporter types.
They get the title the old fashioned way, B. They earn it. I agree it's not a very nice term, but then these aren't exactly very nice people either.
Dan