Received: with LISTAR (v1.0.0; list 9-11peace); Wed, 13 Feb 2002 08:20:22 -0500 (EST) Return-Path: <bulletin@9-11peace.org> Delivered-To: 9-11peace@complete.org Received: from c009.snv.cp.net (c009-h024.c009.snv.cp.net [209.228.34.137]) by pi.glockenspiel.complete.org (Postfix) with SMTP id 9CC403B816 for <9-11peace@complete.org>; Wed, 13 Feb 2002 08:11:55 -0500 (EST) Received: (cpmta 28724 invoked from network); 13 Feb 2002 05:11:54 -0800 Received: from 151.203.226.183 (HELO sylvester) by smtp.surfree.com (209.228.34.137) with SMTP; 13 Feb 2002 05:11:54 -0800 X-Sent: 13 Feb 2002 13:11:54 GMT From: "Eli Pariser" <bulletin@9-11peace.org> To: <9-11peace@complete.org> Subject: What is Terrorism? Date: Wed, 13 Feb 2002 08:15:34 -0500 Message-ID: <NFBBILDICDMBFNGCLHNEAEPJDEAA.bulletin@9-11peace.org> MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Priority: 3 (Normal) X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook IMO, Build 9.0.2416 (9.0.2910.0) X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V4.72.3110.3 Importance: Normal X-archive-position: 21 X-Approved-By: eli@morethanmoney.org X-listar-version: Listar v1.0.0 Sender: 9-11peace-bounce@complete.org Errors-to: 9-11peace-bounce@complete.org X-original-sender: bulletin@9-11peace.org Precedence: bulk Reply-to: bulletin@9-11peace.org X-list: 9-11peace

WHAT IS TERRORISM? Read online, subscribe, or unsubscribe at: http://www.9-11peace.org/bulletin.php3 Susan V. Thompson, ed.

CONTENTS --------- 1. Introduction: One Person's Terrorist... 2. One Link 3. A Disputed Term 4. American State Terrorism? 5. Can Terrorism Be Ended Through War? 6. Get Involved 7. About the Bulletin

INTRODUCTION: ONE PERSON'S TERRORIST... ---------------------------------------- What is terrorism? Perhaps this seems like a silly question. We know, after all, that the WTC attacks were acts of terrorism. And we know that terrorism endangers America and must be stopped. But beyond that, is terrorism really so easy to define? What does a War on Terrorism actually mean? Do our definitions of terrorism betray biases and prejudices that actually blind us to the real issues?

Consider, for example, that:

* While the Israeli and the US governments view Palestinians as terrorists, to others they are freedom-fighters opposing the occupation of their homeland.

* Similarly, India threatened to go to war with Pakistan if it did not crack down on terrorism. The groups that India considers terrorist are considered by many Pakistanis to be freedom fighters, working to liberate Kashmir from Indian oppression.

* While Americans tend to view terrorism as something inherent to foreign regimes and organizations, many around the world view America herself as a terrorist state.

* America continues to maintain an alliance with Saudi Arabia, despite clear ties linking it to the events of 9-11.

* Osama bin Laden and other Afghan mujihaddin were once called "the moral equivalent of our founding fathers" by Ronald Reagan.

History shows that countries often define terrorism based on their current self-interests. Saying that "terrorism is evil," or "terrorism threatens freedom" oversimplifies and ignores fundamental, unanswered questions about whether there is a difference between fighting an oppressive regime and being a terrorist, and whether states can commit terrorism. Even the definitions of terrorism that have been set down in the post-9-11 legislation of many countries are inadequate, for they gloss over the differences in international opinion on this subject.

In this issue, we examine the differing definitions of terrorism and their current ramifications for America and the rest of the world. We will take a look at how the new expanded definition of "domestic terrorism" may be threatening the civil liberties of ordinary people; and, in order to spark debate over where a legitimate act of war (if there is such a thing) ends and terrorism begins, we'll provide some examples of what many people feel is American state-led terrorism. Finally, we will briefly discuss whether or not terrorism can be defeated through war.

Next Week: The military budget.

ONE LINK --------- "...a posture of inconsistency necessarily evades definition. If you are not going to be consistent, you're not going to define. I have examined at least twenty official documents on terrorism. Not one defines the word. All of them explain it, express it emotively, polemically, to arouse our emotions rather than exercise our intelligence."

Eqbal Ahmad, Professor Emeritus of International Relations and Middle Eastern Studies at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts, spoke these words in an address given on 12 October 1998. He also mentioned Osama bin Laden, and the US government's insistence that a war on terrorism needed to be global. His words are not only prophetic but incredibly relevant today. (Note that the writing in this article is often a little clunky, but it is well worth the slight amount of extra effort to read). http://www.irr.org.uk/terrorism/

A DISPUTED TERM ---------------- This article, called "10 Things to Know About Terrorism" summarizes how terrorism has been defined since the term was first used, and notes the difficulties in determining which definition is accurate. http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11647

This UN article notes the lack of international consensus on what terrorism is, and provides some very brief examples of some different perspectives on the issue. http://www.undcp.org/terrorism_definitions.html

This lack of consensus has left the UN deadlocked on a major international treaty against terrorism. The current disagreements focus on how to define terrorism, how to "distinguish terrorist organizations from liberation movements," and how to "handle activities of national armed forces perceived as acts of terrorism." http://www.atimes.com/front/CK30Aa02.html

What is the War on Terrorism? Here is the White House's answer, which summarizes the President's remarks on this subject so far. http://www.whitehouse.gov/response/faq-what.html

The October 2001 report of the Office of the Coordinator for Counterterrorism gives the definition of terrorism as used by the US. http://www.us-israel.org/jsource/Terrorism/2001taterep.html

This is the US State Department's specific list of terrorists and terrorist organizations, including the top ten most wanted terrorists. http://www.state.gov/s/ct/rls/fs/2001/6531.htm

Canada's new anti-terrorism bill, Bill C-36, contains a definition of terrorism very similar to that of Britain and the US. The bill will make it possible to charge someone with terrorism for the first time in Canadian history. http://9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=95

Details of the measures contained in Britain's own Anti-terrorism, Crime and Security Bill. http://www.number-10.gov.uk/news.asp?newsID=3287

Human Rights Watch reports that the US and many other countries worldwide are also using the "war on terrorism" as justification to commit human rights abuses, mainly by labeling certain groups as terrorists. http://9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=96

AMERICAN STATE TERRORISM? ------------------------- A key question regarding the definition of terrorism is whether terrorism can be committed by states, not just individuals and groups working against states. In a number of cases, America has committed acts or supported acts which could be defined as terrorism (although it is certainly not the only country that could be accused of this). Read through these examples and decide for yourself whether they describe legitimate acts of war, state-sanctioned terrorism, or perhaps something in between.

America supports the Northern Alliance despite the fact that they fit the US's own definition of terrorism. This article mentions this fact and the media's apparent obliviousness to it. For more information, read the archived bulletin on the Northern Alliance at the 9-11Peace.org website. http://www.commondreams.org/views01/1123-05.htm http://9-11peace.org/bulletin6.php3

The author of this article argues that the American media has ignored a long history of government-sanctioned US collusion with terrorists and attacks on civilians, such as the unwarranted destruction of a vital pharmaceutical plant in the Sudan in 1998. http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=11917

The movie Black Hawk Down focuses on the experiences of American soldiers during a short period in Somalia, but makes no mention of the events that led up to the incident in the movie, which included US helicopters firing missiles into a house full of civilian delegates discussing an American-led peace initiative. http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=12628

It is difficult to argue against the fact that the US has been training terrorists for years at the infamous School of the Americas in Ft. Benning, Georgia. Despite the current war on terrorism and tremendous pressure to shut the SOA down, the training is continuing -- albeit under a new school name. http://9-11peace.org/r.php3?redir=98

An FAQ on the School of the Americas (now WHISC) from the website of School of the Americas Watch. Gives the history of the school as well as information on some of the most notorious graduates of the school. http://www.soaw.org/faq.html

Colin Powell the war criminal? American military leaders and their actions. http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=11901

This chart summarizes US military interventions over the past century, including incidents like Wounded Knee, operations in Nicaragua in the 80's, and the bombing of Afghanistan in 1998. http://www.zmag.org/CrisesCurEvts/interventions.htm

Like Chomsky and others, the author of this article argues that America is a rogue (or terrorist ) state. However, it is also a superpower, and as a result gets to decide which countries to define as "terrorist regimes" or "rogue states": "The U.S., we might say, engages in wholesale roguery, whereas Iraq is a retail rogue. But nobody in the mainstream calls the wholesale rogue by such a name, any more than they would label it a terrorist state or sponsor of terror, no matter how close the fit. If a country is sufficiently powerful, it naturally assumes the role of global policeman, and as such it designates who are terrorists and rogues. This role is accepted and internalized not only by its own media, but by politicians and the media of its allied and client states." http://www.zmag.org/zmag/articles/feb98herman.htm

CAN TERRORISM BE ENDED THROUGH WAR? ------------------------------------ According to Foreign Policy in Focus, war is the worst way to fight terrorism, and should be the last resort, not the first. http://fpif.org/justice/tobedone.html

President Bush says he wants to prevent another terrorist attack, but his current policies may be encouraging just such an attack. http://www.strike-the-root.com/bottoms9.html

The war on terrorism could lead to more anti-American sentiment and thus more terrorism. This well-balanced and thought-provoking article documents the varying views of people in the Middle East who disagree with American foreign policy, and explores their anger and sense of betrayal at America's actions, both in the past and currently. http://www.csmonitor.com/2001/0927/p1s1-wogi.html

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