What do you say about the term "terrorist?"?

Question

Can we substitute the word "terrorist" for "communist" and "witch" from previous eras? Is it a different concept altogether?

I don't profess a view on this matter. But I'm interested in yours.

Answer 1

at least it is slightly more specific than "evildoer"

Answer 2

Terrorism is a combat strategy.
Properly executed it can end a war with less casualties. I can't think of a single military state that does not have some form of it in their repertoire of weaponry.

What has put the method up front in our minds is that our current adversary, Islamic fundamentalists, have nothing else to use. Consequently, they have been forced to engage in asymmetrical warfare because they are a small widely dispersed entity up against a large conventional military.

The word 'terrorist' is much more marketable than 'asymmetrical warfareist'

Edit: The current strategy of our adversary is to terrorise the people so that they are compelled to surrender long before the military needs to. You could make the argument based on the divisions among the American people and the comments of people like Harry, the-war-is-lost, Reid that it is working rather well.

Communist does not equal terrorist necessarily. Most communist countries of note all adapted large conventional militaries that they could not sustain. Their terrorist tactics as revolutionaries that worked so well for them were quickly abandoned for the big guns.

Sooo---I suppose you could equate communism to-----
'Not too bright'

Answer 3

The term terrorist has been used so many times that people forget what it really means.

Any one thats scares an individual or groups of people can be called a terrorist.

There a illegal and legal.

Legal terrorist is the hardest since it is legal and that usually means laws favoring one status over others or about race. At one time women had no rights to vote even though the US Constitution never prohibited them along with women not being allowed to have credit cards. Woman Suffrage. Women were legally terrorized by men and allowed them very few rights thereby contradicting what the US stands for.

Answer 4

You'd have a fine point if the World Trade Center was still standing.

On 9/11/2001, the definition of terrorist underwent a quantum change, so no, you can't substitute terrorist for your earlier bogemen. On that date, terrorism was proven as a real and very dangerous threat to society, not an imaginary threat.

Answer 5

Well, witches are not generally regarded to have been proven to exist in Salem, Mass. in 1692.

But there WERE communists in our government in the 40s and 50s (the Russian Venona papers prove this), and terrorism exists.

I define terrorists as those who deliberately target civilians for violence, through suicide bombings and/or the practice of hiding among civilians, and other similar measures. For them, getting civilians killed is the goal of their actions, not an unfortunate by-product that they try to avoid.

Answer 6

You may not profess, but you already expressed a view in the first details under the question.
No, terrorist means some luny who blows up buildings with people inside because of mis-placed faith in a cult.
Witch means somebody who practices magic, which is described in the Bible as being a sin.
And communist means liberal democrat...or was that "socialist means..."? I don't know anymore. They're too similar.

Answer 7

I see a "Terrorist" as someone who intends to target civilians. Intending to kill as many "Innocents" as they can..to "Help" their "cause".

I see a "Freedom Fighter" as someone who wants >only< to target the "Enemy" that they are fighting.

Our Armed Forces (USA) do everything that they can to minimize civilian casualties, rebuild infrastructure, Etc.

Notice I said "Minimize", not stop....in war Innocent people die..that is reality. The best you can do is do your best to minimize it. Our troops do their best to do this....the Terrorists do just the opposite...they try to kill as many innocents as possible.

I really don't see the confusion.

Fanatic Islamic Fundamentalists = Terrorists.

Iraq, Allied Troops = Good Guys.

How hard is it to figure that one out?

T.S.

Answer 8

Terrorists are illegal soldiers who want to impose their will on society without going though all that annoying "winning support". Communists are people who belive in communism!

Answer 9

They just arrested some terrorists in Denmark or what is the pc term now for them. Let me see,"Misunderstood,sad eyed,mischievious folks of Islam".

Answer 10

I've noticed that the word "terrorist" is sometimes thrown around much the same way that "Communist" was during the Cold War. I think that some people like to use it to insult those with whom they disagree.

Answer 11

It should be banned from politics and courts.
A terrorist is a criminal, someone who damages people and/or their properties. Any other "terrorist" activities are not crime (like dissent from the current government point of view) and shouldn't be considered as such.