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Do you trust our current and future U.S. government to always define "terrorist" the way you do right now? What happens when some kid who's hacking into websit
by bratsche 14y ago
Do you trust our current and future U.S. government to always define "terrorist" the way you do right now? What happens when some kid who's hacking into websites in ten years suddenly gets labeled as a "terrorist"?
- redthrowaway 14y agoNot at all, but this white paper has nothing to do with the definition of "terrorist". It is concerned solely with senior Al Qaeda leadership.
- rhizome 14y agoWhat constitutes "senior Al Qaeda leadership" in a decentralized and cell-oriented phenomenon?
- redthrowaway 14y agoExecutive decision. It's far from a perfect system.
- jlgreco 14y agoYou mean "Executive decision with no judicial oversight".
- rhizome 14y agoWould you agree that by the same logic someone could identify the senior leadership of bit torrent?
- redthrowaway 14y agoOnly in a tinhatty sort of way. Yes, theoretically, any group the Executive doesn't like could be treated like this. Until you fly a couple of jetliners into skyscrapers killing thousands, however, I think you're safe.
- saraid216 14y agoHere's a list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Al-Qaeda http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Al-Qaeda
- steveklabnik 14y agoI've always been a fan of your username, but this post really put it over the top. And your point is 100% correct: the whole claim about 'leadership' is based on a model that doesn't even apply to these organizations, which makes me really question the competence of those making such proclamations, and even _more_ uneasy with their judgements about extrajudicial killings.
- mc32 14y agoWhat would you consider "senior AQ leadership"? Do you believe there isn't any? Cells don't just "form" from thin air. There are people with ideas, people who coordinate, the hands behind the organization, the financiers. Kind of like a crime syndicate. There are foot soldiers, capos, consiglieri and bosses and boss of bosses. I would say, you watch the organization, follow the trails of financing, ideas, commands, etc. While it's cell-based, like biological cells, they are conected to a larger organism, albeit they can act independently when necessary.