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Off-topic: thank you mods for changing the original submission title, it was quite inflammatory. Terrorism -- or (more to the point) political expression by vi

by ihsw 13y ago

Off-topic: thank you mods for changing the original submission title, it was quite inflammatory. Terrorism -- or (more to the point) political expression by violence -- is not at all a means to end violence, and it would be foolish to pretend that it can ever be. As a matter of fact that is the point of the submitted article. The original title claimed that the Cookbook's author felt terrorism is "a worthless strategy" but such a title contrasts so strongly with the actual article that it boggles my mind how the original submitter even came to that conclusion. Terrorism is just another form of political expression, and calling it worthless is like calling a hammer worthless where a screwdriver would be more appropriate.

Crito 13y ago
Terrorism is such an overloaded word that I think it is next to useless if you want to convey any sort of point clearly. It is better to speak of things more specifically. Topics like assassinations, industrial sabotage, propaganda, and bombing campaigns all deserve individual treatment; talking about "terrorism" has the tendency to lump them together. Some of the things that frequently fall under the umbrella of "terrorism" do have the potential to end violence. Even things that are violent. Because of the fuzzy and subjective nature of the word "terrorism" it is always possible to assert that examples of "terrorism" working are not examples of "true" terrorism, but if we are wary of that loophole by being purposely inclusive, there are examples in history of terrorism ending violence. The show trial and execution of Nicolae Ceaușescu is an example that springs to mind immediately. Allied resistance movements during the Second World War are another (such as Operation Heads, an assassination program run by the Polish resistance: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Heads http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Heads).

by ihsw 13y ago

Crito 13y ago

Terrorism is such an overloaded word that I think it is next to useless if you want to convey any sort of point clearly. It is better to speak of things more specifically. Topics like assassinations, industrial sabotage, propaganda, and bombing campaigns all deserve individual treatment; talking about "terrorism" has the tendency to lump them together. Some of the things that frequently fall under the umbrella of "terrorism" do have the potential to end violence. Even things that are violent. Because of the fuzzy and subjective nature of the word "terrorism" it is always possible to assert that examples of "terrorism" working are not examples of "true" terrorism, but if we are wary of that loophole by being purposely inclusive, there are examples in history of terrorism ending violence. The show trial and execution of Nicolae Ceaușescu is an example that springs to mind immediately. Allied resistance movements during the Second World War are another (such as Operation Heads, an assassination program run by the Polish resistance: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Heads http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Heads).