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I wish Bruce Schneier in an otherwise nice essay wouldn't propagate the meme "the goal of terrorists is to terrorize". The end goal of terrorists is to fight a

I wish Bruce Schneier in an otherwise nice essay wouldn't propagate the meme "the goal of terrorists is to terrorize". The end goal of terrorists is to fight a war or change government policy (through acts of violence). They may have a goal of terrorizing, and they may even enjoy causing harm and terror, but that is still a means to some other end, not an end in itself. The USA is targeted because of how it exercises its power in foreign policy. That does not imply that terrorism is deserved, just that actions have consequences and should be discussed in a more intelligent way rather than deceiving ourselves with over-simplistic notions.

mattdeboard 15y ago
One need only to quote your post to refute it: > I wish Bruce Schneier in an otherwise nice essay wouldn't propagate the meme "the goal of terrorists is to terrorize". > [Terrorists] may have a goal of terrorizing, and they may even enjoy causing harm and terror... Is it a meme, or is it a fact? The truth is, it's a fact. Terrorists use fear & intimidation (and yes, terror) to coerce governments, through public opinion, to change certain policies. Terror is both the means to an end, and an end in and of itself. You are unequivocally wrong.
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EvilTerran 15y ago
If they were trying to fight a war through means other than terror, they'd be soldiers, not terrorists. If they were trying to change government policy through means other than terror, they'd be lobbyists, not terrorists. It's the use of terror as the means that makes them terrorists. Perhaps "the goal of terrorists is to terrorize" is, strictly speaking, an oversimplification, but it's close enough to the truth, surely?