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Politics : View from the Center and Left
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To: Lane3 who wrote (2593)8/4/2005 7:40:10 PM
From: thames_sider  Read Replies (2) of 541957
 
I don't consider attacks against military forces to be terrorism. It's part of war to kill all the enemy soldiers you can.

I would argue this depends very much on a formally defined 'war'. Take these three examples of IRA terrorism (as it was and generally would be defined):

- mortar attacks on British barracks, in Belfast

- nail bombs planted to kill a military band on parade

- grenades thrown into pubs where off-duty soldiers are likely to be drinking (not necessarily in NI)

In a declared war, all might be valid tactics. Carried out in a war declared and recognised by only one side, I'd argue otherwise. Bear in mind that - with only a few very public, very specific and very publicised exceptions - British troops in NI never actually waged war against any particular enemy, and barely used any of their military options. They went in as peacekeepers and certainly stuck closely to that role; to those who have argued otherwise, just think what casualties they could have inflicted if they had chosen, if waging war rather than peace had in fact been their aim...

Of course, Bush has taken quite the opposite path.
By terming it a war on terrorism Bush validates terrorist murders as wartime tactics to remove invaders and their allies.
By then waging war with staggering disregard or even disdain for civilian casualties, indeed sometimes an apparent attitude that higher casualties might deter future attacks, he forfeits the moral high ground and makes it hard to argue convincingly that he is genuinely more interested in civilian welfare.
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