[Vision2020] Defining Terrorism

[Ted Moffett]

All-

Given how this concept dominates our political life, foreign policy,
changing views of civil rights, and is used to justify wars that our
citizens die in and our taxes pay for, a clear and agreed upon definition
would be wise.  Yet anyone objectively studying all the arguments regarding
how to define terrorism will discover a wide range of complex definitions,
with some scholars insisting the concept cannot be clearly defined.  Other
terms should be used instead.

Some sources to ponder on this issue:

  *The lack of consensus on what constitutes terrorism points to its
inescapably political nature* - *What is 'Terrorism'? Problems of Legal
Definition"  Ben Golder and George Williams ,
2004<http://www.tamilnation.org/terrorism/terrorism_definition.pdf>
*

   "Our aim in this article is not to determine what is or is not terrorism.
We do not add our own definition to an already long list. Instead, we
address some of the practical and political problems that lawyers encounter
when they attempt to establish a definition. The lack of consensus on what
constitutes terrorism points to its inescapably political nature, perhaps
best encapsulated in the aphorism (or cliché) that 'one person's terrorist
is another person's freedomfighter'..."


  *State terrorism is vastly more destructive than anti-state and individual
and small group terrorism* - *Edward S. Herman, February
2006<http://www.tamilnation.org/terrorism/0602state_terrorism.htm>
*

"..By any generally applicable standard—i.e., excluding the fraudulent but
widely used "terrorism is what somebody else does" criterion—state terrorism
is vastly more destructive than anti-state and individual and small group
terrorism. This is the basis for distinguishing between the two as
"wholesale" versus "retail" terrorism. Wholesale trade implies large scale
business operations that deal with many smaller retail operators. The
retailers have little capital and do business with a small set of local
customers. State terrorists apply their violence over a wide terrain using
the large resources of the state, and they can employ a broader and more
cruel range of techniques of intimidation, including devastating weapons
like napalm, phosphorus, depleted uranium munitions; cluster, thermobaric
and 500-pound bombs; advanced delivery systems like helicopter gun-ships and
cruise missiles; and torture..."

  *"There is no globally accepted definition of terrorism"* - *Foreign
Policy Association
(FPA)<http://www.fpa.org/newsletter_info2478/newsletter_info.htm>
*

"There is no globally accepted definition of terrorism. Most scholarly texts
devoted to the study of terrorism contain a section, chapter, or chapters
devoted to a discussion of how difficult it is to define the term. In fact,
various US government agencies employ different definitions of the term. The
most widely accepted definition is probably that put forward by the US State
Department, which defines terrorism as "premeditated, politically motivated
violence perpetrated against non combatant targets by subnational groups or
clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience" [Title 22 of
the United States Code, Section 2656f(d)]."

"The most problematic issue relating to terrorism and armed conflict is
distinguishing terrorists from lawful
combatants<http://www.tamilnation.org/tamileelam/armedstruggle/index.htm>"
- *Terrorism and Human Rights -  Final Report of UN Special Rapporteur,
Kalliopi K. Koufa<http://www.tamilnation.org/terrorism/index.htm#The_most_problematic_issue>,
25 June 2004*

"Above the gates of hell is the warning that all that enter should abandon
hope. Less dire but to the same effect is the warning given to those who try
to define terrorism" *- **David Tucker in  Skirmishes at the Edge of
Empire<http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0275957624?ie=UTF8&tag=tamilntamilrelat&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0275957624>quoted
by Lord Carlile in his Report on the The
Definition of Terrorism  - Presented to UK Parliament, March
2007<http://www.tamilnation.org/terrorism/uk/070317carlile.htm>
*
------------------------------

*"There are multiple ways of defining terrorism, and all are subjective.
Most define terrorism as 'the use or threat of serious violence' to advance
some kind of 'cause'. Some state clearly the kinds of group ('sub-national',
'non-state') or cause (political, ideological, religious) to which they
refer. Others merely rely on the instinct of most people when confronted
with innocent civilians being killed or maimed by men armed with explosives,
firearms or other weapons. None is satisfactory, and grave problems with the
use of the term persist. Terrorism is after all, a tactic. The term 'war on
terrorism' is thus effectively nonsensical."  .**..my preference is, on the
whole, for the less loaded term 'militancy'.*
Jason Burke ("Al Qaeda", ch.2, p.22)
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Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett
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