Tinkerlina Posted January 11, 2009 Share Posted January 11, 2009 [quote name='Hassan' post='1748248' date='Jan 10 2009, 04:33 PM']So that the other thread does not get sidetracked I thought it would be a good idea to open up this thread. The primary question being "what is terrorism"? But it could expand somewhat into questions such as whether or not terrorism is solely the province of NGO's or if states and governments can also be guilty of terrorism etc.[/quote] I once heard that "terrorism is the poor man's war" and I think it is. To varying degrees, most terrorist groups have a defined goal and organization just like a military. Their objectives are often misguided and fueled by personal prejudices, but honestly these prejudices could have developed not without reason.By that same logic, I think that the government, military, state, etc can definitely be capable of terrorism and has, in my opinion, committed acts of terrorism. I do believe in the hypotheticals of Just War Doctrine, but, in this day and age, given the weapons availble and their unprecedented capacity for destruction, I'd be shocked to find anything that I thought fit the definition of Just War. -Katie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Socrates Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 [quote name='Winchester' post='1748468' date='Jan 10 2009, 10:50 PM']Rather than traditional means of warfare--that is attacking military targets, terrorism attacks civilians in order to achieve its objectives. It is not comparable to guerilla warfare, in which small units attack legitimate military objectives. In this, it is a crime. Terrorism is not honorable and the perpetrators are criminals, not soldiers.[/quote] Best definition here. [quote name='Tinkerlina' post='1748508' date='Jan 10 2009, 11:59 PM']I once heard that "terrorism is the poor man's war" and I think it is. To varying degrees, most terrorist groups have a defined goal and organization just like a military. Their objectives are often misguided and fueled by personal prejudices, but honestly these prejudices could have developed not without reason.By that same logic, I think that the government, military, state, etc can definitely be capable of terrorism and has, in my opinion, committed acts of terrorism. I do believe in the hypotheticals of Just War Doctrine, but, in this day and age, given the weapons availble and their unprecedented capacity for destruction, I'd be shocked to find anything that I thought fit the definition of Just War. -Katie[/quote] No, guerilla warfare is the "poor man's war," and is not the same as terrorism. Blowing up a military convoy is an act of warfare. Blowing up a building full of civilians is an act of terrorism. And I see no point in sympathizing with terrorists. Post-WWI Germany had plenty of grievances - that doesn't justify the Nazi holocaust. No more are terrorist acts of mass-murder justified. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinkerlina Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 [quote name='Socrates' post='1748987' date='Jan 11 2009, 10:32 PM']Best definition here. No, guerilla warfare is the "poor man's war," and is not the same as terrorism. Blowing up a military convoy is an act of warfare. Blowing up a building full of civilians is an act of terrorism. And I see no point in sympathizing with terrorists. Post-WWI Germany had plenty of grievances - that doesn't justify the Nazi holocaust. No more are terrorist acts of mass-murder justified.[/quote] I'm not sympathizing with terrorists, I'm saying that I don't think what "real" military organizations do are necessarily any more noble (at least on the end of the administration). I'm not making excuses for any kind of terrorism, but terrorists do not always target civilians, nor do the militaries of countries who claim to follow the Geneva Convention always abide by the convention and NOT target civilians. I understand the difference between guerilla warfare and terrorism, I don't condone either of them, nor do I condone the many other acts of violence in this world that are not defined as terrorism. -Katie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T-Bone _ Posted January 12, 2009 Share Posted January 12, 2009 [quote name='Hassan' post='1748319' date='Jan 10 2009, 04:40 PM']You take that back [size=6]THIS MOMENT>([/size] How [size=6]DARE YOU[/size] I, and all the kitties I represent, are deeply offended[/quote] What about the Sea Kittens? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Therese Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 Terrrorism is basically acts of war committed by people who aren't agents of a particular government but of an organization. These acts of war are usually performed by people not wearing uniforms, and attacking non conventional targets such as civilians,etc. These acts are calculated to cause maximum amounts of terror, fear and chaos. Generally these acts of terror are contrived to be "surprise" attacks, with little or no warning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeffpugh Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 I didn't read this thread, because it will probably be monotonous and Hassan just sayin "iunno", but I can tell you we can all agree on the fact that terrorism is a "bad" thing, and that the root is "terror", there has to be some sort of fear involved, otherwise why call it [i]terror[/i]ism? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kujo Posted January 13, 2009 Share Posted January 13, 2009 (edited) [quote name='Saint Therese' post='1749918' date='Jan 13 2009, 12:08 AM']Terrrorism is basically acts of war committed by people who aren't agents of a particular government but of an organization. These acts of war are usually performed by people not wearing uniforms, and attacking non conventional targets such as civilians,etc. These acts are calculated to cause maximum amounts of terror, fear and chaos. Generally these acts of terror are contrived to be "surprise" attacks, with little or no warning.[/quote] What about state-sponsored terrorism, or the atrocities of the Stalin regime? Can terrorism take the form of the intangible--fear, intimidation, actions that aren't quite as overt? I think your definition is slightly myopic. Edited January 13, 2009 by kujo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinkerlina Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 [quote name='kujo' post='1750330' date='Jan 13 2009, 05:09 PM']What about state-sponsored terrorism, or the atrocities of the Stalin regime? Can terrorism take the form of the intangible--fear, intimidation, actions that aren't quite as overt? I think your definition is slightly myopic.[/quote] I certainly believe governments can become agents of terror through inciting fear-that's basically how all unjust governments operate. -Katie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kujo Posted January 15, 2009 Share Posted January 15, 2009 [quote name='Tinkerlina' post='1751680' date='Jan 15 2009, 12:08 AM']I certainly believe governments can become agents of terror through inciting fear-that's basically how all unjust governments operate. -Katie[/quote] Actually, if you think about it, at least from a Hobbesian perspective, [i]all[/i] governments operate on the presumption of fear. That's why they receive their mandate: the world is a dark, scary place and the people need some sort of arbiter to protect them from it. Now, in our more civilized time, the government exists and we rarely ask why. But it still holds true that, at least from this perspective, fear is the basis for the creation of the government. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmotherofpirl Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 THis is terrorism: [url="http://idfspokesperson.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/intelmaps1.jpeg"]http://idfspokesperson.files.wordpress.com...in telmaps1.jpeg://http://idfspokesperson.files.wordpr...n telmaps1.jpeg[/url] White stars in red circles - rocket/mortar launchers Yellow lines - civilian buildings Red lines - hamas installations Red triangles - bunkers Yellow triangles - hidden positions Blue triangles - rigged explosives Grey triangles -tunnels Purple triangles - obstacles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kujo Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 [quote name='cmotherofpirl' post='1755510' date='Jan 19 2009, 04:32 PM']THis is terrorism: [url="http://idfspokesperson.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/intelmaps1.jpeg"]http://idfspokesperson.files.wordpress.com...in telmaps1.jpeg://http://idfspokesperson.files.wordpr...n telmaps1.jpeg://http://idfspokesperson.files.wordpr...n telmaps1.jpeg[/url] White stars in red circles - rocket/mortar launchers Yellow lines - civilian buildings Red lines - hamas installations Red triangles - bunkers Yellow triangles - hidden positions Blue triangles - rigged explosives Grey triangles -tunnels Purple triangles - obstacles[/quote] No....that is a map. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmotherofpirl Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 [quote name='kujo' post='1755517' date='Jan 19 2009, 04:36 PM']No....that is a map.[/quote] Did you actually look at it? Putting military targets next to civilian areas is considered a war crime. The kind of things terrorists do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kujo Posted January 19, 2009 Share Posted January 19, 2009 I did. I was making a joke. Sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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