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That's not really true, there's plenty of recorded instances of terror attacks on military targets (the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, for examp
by cwyers 11y ago
That's not really true, there's plenty of recorded instances of terror attacks on military targets (the 1983 bombing of the Marine barracks in Beirut, for example).
What distinguishes the Rebellion from terrorism or insurgency is not just the choice of military targets, but its goals and methods. The definition of terrorism is the use of violence or intimidation in the pursuit of political aims. Terror attacks against military targets are designed to sow fear. The Rebel Alliance attacked the Death Star to deny the Empire the use of their planet-killing weapon, it's not so much that it was a military target as it was a military OBJECTIVE.
Also, if you look at the Rebels -- they're a military organization. They wear uniforms. They have bases. They aren't hiding among the civilian population. They're fighting the Empire in straight-up space battles, they aren't loading civilian ships down with explosives and blowing up Imperial bases with them.
- DennisP 11y agoFrightening the enemy is almost always an important part of military tactics (e.g. "shock and awe"). And what war doesn't have political aims?
- deleted 11y ago[deleted]
- cwyers 11y agoAt the time the Millennium Falcon was captured by the Death Star, it was a civilian transport. The use of enemy uniforms was to facilitate escape from captivity, note that they sabotaged the tractor beam preventing them from escaping, not any other part of the Death Star.
- ashark 11y ago> They aren't hiding among the civilian population. They're fighting the Empire in straight-up space battles, they aren't loading civilian ships down with explosives and blowing up Imperial bases with them. "This is a consular ship! We're on a... diplomatic mission!". :-)
- cwyers 11y agoAnd Vader correctly identified Leia as a Rebel spy and traitor -- she was carrying information while continuing her duties as a member of the Senate. But she doesn't carry out any violent actions using her consular ship.
- ashark 11y agoThe do (ineffectively, pointlessly) return fire, if that counts. They do manage to bring the Imperial hammer down on Cloud City. They also propagandize the poor Ewoks into joining their war, which has got to be somewhere around using dolphins in warfare, ethically speaking.
- cwyers 11y agoCloud City, per Lando's admission, wasn't part of the Empire when the Falcon landed there. As for the Ewoks -- it seems pretty clear that the Ewoks were already engaged in combat with the Empire before the Rebels arrived -- Warrick kills a stormtrooper when rescuing Leia, and Han and Luke are caught in a trap that seems like it would've been set for imperial forces. (I think one could argue that the Ewoks before the arrival of the Rebellion were operating an insurgency against the Imperial forces.)
- ashark 11y ago> As for the Ewoks -- it seems pretty clear that the Ewoks were already engaged in combat with the Empire before the Rebels arrived -- Warrick kills a stormtrooper when rescuing Leia, and Han and Luke are caught in a trap that seems like it would've been set for imperial forces. (I think one could argue that the Ewoks before the arrival of the Rebellion were operating an insurgency against the Imperial forces.) Now that I think about it, judging from what the Ewoks do when they catch Our Heroes, they may have been hunting stormtroopers for food. There's a creepy angle on the whole thing that I'd never considered.