Draginol Draginol

What exactly is terrorism?

▼

What exactly is terrorism?

Don't give terrorists the same legitimacy as nation states.

from JoeUser Forums

Terrorism, by definition, is the act of performing random acts of violence towards a civilian population for the express purpose of creating fear and uncertainty and is performed by persons with no definitive origin.

Al Qaeda wasn't targeting some person in the world trade center. They were simply murdering as many people as they could in the most arbitrary way to instill fear and panic amongst their enemies.

Moreover, if a military aircraft from country X wrongly bombs a building full of civilians in country Z then country Z has many options available to them.

Consider how much simpler things would be if the WTC had been attacked by say the government of Iran or some other nation state.

What's nice about nation states is that they are much easier to be held accountable.

The minute you give terrorists the same legitimacy as the governments of nation states you might as well throw up your hands and argue that criminals have their own legitimacy as well. Terrorists are just another form of violent criminal who have simply passed a threshold beyond what can be dealt with by civilian police forces effectively.

politics
10,523 views 35 replies
Reply #26 from JoeUser Forums Top
.....the church is a terrorist organisation

only those churches using intimidation to impose a temporal political agenda on non-members would qualify

if nations can be considered rogue states, id think they can also be considered rogue terrorist states. in that case, official state churches using extortion to further or achieve political goals would definitely qualify as well.

the peace corps is a govt agency but isnt forcing anyone to do anything. hopefully
Reply #27 from JoeUser Forums Top
Thank someone that we have churches or rather religion.Where would all those people be if it werent for the religion,out on
streets running free, nah better they have a place to go.

And may youre god be with you.
Siege of Centauri
Reply #28 from JoeUser Forums Top
Well, I am glad someone else agrees with me. Terrorists or no better than criminals or the Mob. You could call them super criminals but then that would be giving them too much.

I have more of a chance being killed by a car in the street... we just have to get used to this new threat. Once that happens their power is mostly taken away.


Nevertheless, if they manage to use a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb, I can see pretty easily that many countries that support terrorism might have some major issues... of which at this point it could really get ugly.
Reply #29 from JoeUser Forums Top
Then an occupying force would also be terrorists ?


Occupying force is not a random act. Nor is it terrorizing, although it can be threating. Threatening is a few pegs below terrorizing and collective criminal activity with no compassion whatsoever for those in its wake.

Did I straighten that out for you?
Reply #30 from JoeUser Forums Top
Occupying forces have a definite orgin.Governments are public entities that can be held accountable for their actions. Terrorist groups are anonymous entities that generally avoid accountability for their actions.


That also...
Reply #31 from JoeUser Forums Top
Reply By: Marten LangbratenPosted: Friday, May 28, 2004What about Israel, or rather Ariel Sharon and his people ?


Honestly, when it comes to Israel, I am not sure what they are doing. That, in my view, has more to do with pride and religion on both sides.

Too much promised land or land of my forefathers for me... how about either come up with a way to live each other or go for all out war. Then, I bet, they both will really want peace. What is happening over there now is tit-for-tat fighting. No real leadership on the Palestinian side and some real leadership on the Israeli side.

Well, anyway, this all has to come to an end, it just a matter of how much time it will take. Truth be told, the method of terrorism is self destructive. If it work, all you will have is a bunch of societies that think its 'OK' to do it and there will never be peace because any one who disagrees will use the method. Plus, terrorism only works in societies that care, for example, the Soviet Union would not allow such actions to stop them and wipe out whole towns continuously until they stopped. find their children and use them against them and other cruel tactics.

The US isn't doing that... mostly because if they were you would here a sound coming out of Iraq.
Reply #32 from JoeUser Forums Top
very few terrorist 'missions' go unproclaimed by the perpetrators.



????

I think he means that its a person, or group, not a whole country or state. Groups of people dissovle into nothing and have places to hide. a State or peice of land really isn't going anywhere.
Reply #33 from JoeUser Forums Top
Well kind of funny bush said we need to stop terrorism across the globe, But hey Mr Bush what about israel? We support Israel. Like it or not there terrorists.
Reply #34 from JoeUser Forums Top
Those "terrorists" aren't our enemies though. It's much the same reason why the U.N. allowed genocide to occur in Africa, but not in Europe.