What is terrorism? - And how do we define a terrorist?

[Goldfinger]

I have been wondering about this lately. Is terrorism killing innocent civilians, or refusing people their civil rights? Or is it attacking a country without being in war with it? I know GWB would say it's the last one, but he is responsible for doing all the things I mentioned. I would qualify both as threats to democracy, which means equal rights.

[Blasphemy]

i think that a terrorist is someone who hurts innocent people in order to promote political goals.

The Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary defines terrorism as "the systematic use of terror especially as mean of coercion".
Terror is defined as "violence (as bombing) committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands."

[Angie]

Terrorism, according to the Governments these days, seems to be the following of one's beliefs that are not attuned to the Government's own set of beliefs.

That said, ASIS is more than welcome to stamp "Terrorist" upon my file. Thanks, guys! :biggrin:

[Borincano]

Terrorism is promoting fear among a population either through selective assassinations, mass killings or destruction of property along with mass propoganda and other social and economic targest that could affect a people to reach political, economic and/or social goals.

That's my opinion.

[psycho chicken]

"the use of unconventional warfare for no gain of land or assets"

i forgot where that's from, but it pretty much sums it up

[red senator]

Quote: from psycho chicken on 12:42 pm on June 20, 2002
"the use of unconventional warfare for no gain of land or assets"

i forgot where that's from, but it pretty much sums it up

Terrorists in the 70's held people hostage and recieved "assets" (money, weapons, etc.)

[psycho chicken]

yes but what did they use those weapons and money for? more terrorism. what was their ultimate goal? not land or assets

[Uncle Ho]

OK I think I get it now, terrorism is what you are doing when you don't have control of the media and the government and kill people or destroy property. On the other hand, sanctions, police actions, riot control, assasination (a.k.a.CIA), market manipulation etc etc is when you do have control of the government and media i.e. might makes right ?

[Anonymous]

The definition seems to change whenever a new circumstance comes to the pubilc's eyes. Reminds me of animal farm and the seven commandments.

[suffianr]

It's not what you think it is.

How can you "define" terrorism? It is an abstract concept, intangible because overt terrorism (the stuff you see on the news) is wholly dependent on context. Where, who killed who, why who killed who, how many who's got killed, who's a widow now? And we won't even go into the covert aspect of it all...

Terrorism is like poverty. You can see it's effects, you can define the problems, you can analyse the statistics and forecast the trends, but you can never eradicate it. Poverty is intangible. It isn't a case of flu. You can treat it, diminish it, but you can't put an end to it. You can't stand up and say that poverty will end in 2035. You can't stand up and say it will end when you want it to. Because you can't. It's not your call.

Poverty. How do you fight it? Kill the rich? Ensure an equal distribution of wealth? Say goodby to class war?

Go ahead. Think of a solution. Wake me up when you've had enough...

How do you start a war on poverty? Do you sit and wait at home, wait until the phone rings and it's your neighbour telling you that three homeless people are shitting on your lawn and wiping their arses on your garden gnomes? Do you drive around your neighbourhood with your trunk loaded with pretzels and salami and stop by all the cardbox housing projects that you see? Do you enrol Boyscouts to scourge the suburbs, looking for old ladys wheeling shopping trollyies filled with trash?

What do you do? Close your eyes and hope it'll go away?

So, how do you fight a war against terrorism? 'Depends on how you defined it in the first place, right?

[Fabi]

go and watch and listen to what noam chomsky said about the issue at fair's 15th anniversary...

http://www.freespeech.org/fsitv/ramfiles/c...omsky012302.ram (http://www.freespeech.org/fsitv/ramfiles/chomsky012302.ram)

or go to fair.org... you'll find it there, too...

well, terrorism by dictionary has already been mentioned... which is something the US and other countries have been doing all along... (hand out osama, OR.... is a great example of textbook-terrorism...)

but in context, and 'officialy', it is something THEY do to us... not something WE do to them... ;)

go and listen to the speech... it's interesting...