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Secretary-General Kofi Annan actually tried to define terrorism at the end of his tenure... He suggested : "Any action constitutes terrorism if it is intended t

by utunga 13y ago

Secretary-General Kofi Annan actually tried to define terrorism at the end of his tenure... He suggested : "Any action constitutes terrorism if it is intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act." That would make the bombing of Dresden and Nagasaki (and any other bombing under the 'strategic bombing' doctrine where the objective was to drain the people's will to fight) to be terrorism, though. It would make some of what the ANC did terrorism. This, however, would not be terrorism. I think Kofi Annan was bang on the money. About time we had a workable definition of the word (beyond just 'whatever the other guy does'). However he didn't get very far with it at the UN level.

malandrew 13y ago
"LeMay said, "If we'd lost the war, we'd all have been prosecuted as war criminals." And I think he's right. He, and I'd say I, were behaving as war criminals. LeMay recognized that what he was doing would be thought immoral if his side had lost. But what makes it immoral if you lose and not immoral if you win?" Robert S. McNamara, in the documentary series The Fog of War. [0] http://www.errolmorris.com/film/fow_transcript.html http://www.errolmorris.com/film/fow_transcript.html
- tehwalrus 13y ago
  International law is a joke when only people who lose wars are prosecuted. (I have a lot to say on this point, but I'll leave it at that and point you to this[1]) [1] a series of three blog posts, old now and in need of rewriting: http://politicomaniac.net/2011/02/the-failure-of-the-state/ http://politicomaniac.net/2011/02/the-failure-of-the-state/ http://politicomaniac.net/2011/02/lie-back-and-think-of-england/ http://politicomaniac.net/2011/02/lie-back-and-think-of-engl... http://politicomaniac.net/2011/02/fluffy-federalism/ http://politicomaniac.net/2011/02/fluffy-federalism/
EliRivers 13y ago
I note that the definition there means that some of what were arguably the most effective bombings conducted by the IRA weren't terrorism. Which is nice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Docklands_bombing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Docklands_bombing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Manchester_bombing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Manchester_bombing

by utunga 13y ago

malandrew 13y ago

"LeMay said, "If we'd lost the war, we'd all have been prosecuted as war criminals." And I think he's right. He, and I'd say I, were behaving as war criminals. LeMay recognized that what he was doing would be thought immoral if his side had lost. But what makes it immoral if you lose and not immoral if you win?" Robert S. McNamara, in the documentary series The Fog of War. [0] http://www.errolmorris.com/film/fow_transcript.html http://www.errolmorris.com/film/fow_transcript.html

tehwalrus 13y ago
International law is a joke when only people who lose wars are prosecuted. (I have a lot to say on this point, but I'll leave it at that and point you to this[1]) [1] a series of three blog posts, old now and in need of rewriting: http://politicomaniac.net/2011/02/the-failure-of-the-state/ http://politicomaniac.net/2011/02/the-failure-of-the-state/ http://politicomaniac.net/2011/02/lie-back-and-think-of-england/ http://politicomaniac.net/2011/02/lie-back-and-think-of-engl... http://politicomaniac.net/2011/02/fluffy-federalism/ http://politicomaniac.net/2011/02/fluffy-federalism/

EliRivers 13y ago

I note that the definition there means that some of what were arguably the most effective bombings conducted by the IRA weren't terrorism. Which is nice. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Docklands_bombing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Docklands_bombing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Manchester_bombing http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Manchester_bombing