Friday, August 22, 2008

Terrorism?

Terrorism




Wikipedia defines terrorism as follows:



Terrorism is "the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion."[1] There is no internationally agreed definition of terrorism.[2][3] Most common definitions of terrorism include only those acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for an ideological goal (as opposed to a lone attack), and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants. Some definitions also include acts of unlawful violence and war.

Terrorism is also a form of unconventional warfare and psychological warfare. The word is politically and emotionally charged,[4] and this greatly compounds the difficulty of providing a precise definition. One 1988 study by the US Army found that over 100 definitions of the word "terrorism" have been used.[5] A person who practices terrorism is a terrorist

They go on to list key criteria as follows:



Psychological impact and fear – The attack was carried out in such a way as to maximize the severity and length of the psychological impact. Each act of terrorism is a “performance,” devised to have an impact on many large audiences. Terrorists also attack national symbols to show their power and to shake the foundation of the country or society they are opposed to. This may negatively affect a government's legitimacy, while increasing the legitimacy of the given terrorist organization and/or ideology behind a terrorist act.[12]

Perpetrated for a political goal – Something all terrorist attacks have in common is their perpetration for a political purpose. Terrorism is a political tactic, not unlike letter writing or protesting, that is used by activists when they believe no other means will effect the kind of change they desire. The change is desired so badly that failure is seen as a worse outcome than the deaths of civilians. This is often where the interrelationship between terrorism and religion occurs. When a political struggle is integrated into the framework of a religious or "cosmic"[13] struggle, such as over the control of an ancestral homeland or holy site such as Israel and Jerusalem, failing in the political goal (nationalism) becomes equated with spiritual failure, which, for the highly committed, is worse than their own death or the deaths of innocent civilians.

Disguise – Terrorists almost invariably pretend to be non-combatants, hide among non-combatants, fight from in the midst of non-combatants, and when they can, strive to mislead and provoke the government soldiers into attacking the wrong people, that the government may be blamed for it. When an enemy is identifiable as a combatant, the word terrorism is rarely used.

They also go on to describe outlets for terrorists:

Media exposure may be a primary goal of those carrying out terrorism, to expose issues that would otherwise be ignored by the media. Some consider this to be manipulation and exploitation of the media.[59] Others consider terrorism itself to be a symptom of a highly controlled mass media, which does not otherwise give voice to alternative viewpoints, a view expressed by Paul Watson who has stated that controlled media is responsible for terrorism, because "you cannot get your information across any other way". Paul Watson's organization Sea Shepherd has itself been branded "eco-terrorist", although it claims to have not caused any casualties.

The mass media will often censor organizations involved in terrorism (through self-restraint or regulation) to discourage further terrorism. However, this may encourage organisations to perform more extreme acts of terrorism to be shown in the mass media.
Lord Vader without his helmet

 
With all the definitions being explained, is it out of line to suggest that Al Gore has perpitrated an act of terrorism on the American peole? He readily admitted that it was perfectly acceptable to over-estimate the severity of Global Warming to shock the people into listening to his “point of view.”


If this is entirely acceptable for him, what exactly is the difference between Al Gore talking about “man- made” global warming and how it represents a preponderance of evidence when 33,000 scientists have now signed on reject not only his theories but the very data gathering, explaination, computer modeling, and the conclusions of the United Nations formed IPCC panel formed to institute political policies rather then to explain climatic changes, and say a man standing in a dark theatre and screaming, “FIRE”?


If the intent of terrorism is to inflict fear for a political gain, why hasn’t Al Gore been charged? Seems simple to me but then again what do I know?..........Al

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

This was an interesting comparison

Anonymous said...

Bingo! Exactly what I've been saying all along!