I found the State Department's definition of Terrorism while browsing an article about it, called,
THE ECONOMICS AND THE EDUCATION OF SUICIDE BOMBERS.
Does Poverty Cause Terrorism?
by Alan B. Krueger & Jitka Maleckova
It is too long to post here, and a little dry. Here is the URL and the definition. Suffice to say that, according to the article, the terrorists we are worried about are not recruited from the "ragheads" in Gaza.
>>>The State Department, which acknowledges that no single definition of terrorism has gained universal acceptance, seems to have captured what is considered terrorism by many governments and international organizations. Since 1983, it has employed this definition for statistical and analytical purposes: "The term 'terrorism' means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience. The term 'international terrorism' means terrorism involving citizens or the territory of more than one country." The State Department also specifies that "the term noncombatant is interpreted to include, in addition to civilians, military personnel who at the time of the incident are unarmed and/or not on duty....We also consider as acts of terrorism attacks on military installations or on armed military personnel when a state of military hostilities does not exist at the site, such as bombings against U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf, Europe, or elsewhere." The rub, of course, is that the definitions of "subnational" and "military hostilities" leaves much latitude for disagreement.<<<
Rest is at: thenewrepublic.com |
