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The problem is that terrorism is a strategy that America also uses in war. Calling the terrorists evil because they blow up civilians in another country is cal
by maeon3 15y ago
The problem is that terrorism is a strategy that America also uses in war. Calling the terrorists evil because they blow up civilians in another country is calling war evil. Its the double-think and hypocritical nature of the word I don't like.
What makes the planes into the world trade center more evil than the hundreds of thousands of bombs used to blow up suspected enemy hideouts in iraq, Iran and Afghanistan?
- RexRollman 15y agoI think it is all about intention. Intending to kill innocent civilians is different than accidentally killing them while trying to target enemy combatants. (Of course, these differences mean nothing to those who were wrongly killed.)
- ttt_ 15y ago>> I think it is all about intention. Isn't the US the only country to have ever used nuclear warfare? Therefore willingly and knowingly killing countless innocent civilians?
- gee_totes 15y agoTrue, but I wouldn't consider this terrorism. For me, the distinction between terrorism and general warfare is that terrorist acts are carried out by non-state actors (or people acting as proxies for a state). The war in Afganistan, the bombing of Japan, etc. was carried out clearly and explicitly by the United States government. This is why I find the phrase 'terrorist government' to be absurd.
- DasIch 15y agoTerrorism, initially, described acts performed by a government. Interesting that people consider this to be absurd nowadays.
- tkahn6 15y agoSource?
- ttt_ 15y ago>> "Terrorism" comes from the French word terrorisme,and originally referred specifically to state terrorism as practiced by the French government during the Reign of terror. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism#Origin_of_term http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terrorism#Origin_of_term
- batista 15y agoYes. They are also known to use false pretexts, like the existence of wmd, to invade others countries. Or overthrow (or assist in overthrowing) democratic governments, like in 50's Iran and many other places. Or throw chemicals like Agent Orange that destroy the farms of another country and live thousands of people poisoned. Or hold citizens of other countries in special jails without due process. Or just plain do medical experiments on humans, Dr. Mengele style: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11454789 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11454789
- tkahn6 15y ago> What makes the planes into the world trade center more evil than the hundreds of thousands of bombs used to blow up suspected enemy hideouts in iraq, Iran and Afghanistan? What makes targeting civilians more evil than targeting militants?