"Attack on America" - a Personal Response (fwd)

[Ken Brown]

"Riad S. Wahby" wrote:

> The labels "act of terrorism" and "act of war" are mutually exclusive.
> The former is by definition perpetrated by a non-governmental group;
> the latter requires actions by a government.  The claims by Dubya et
> al to the contrary are incoherent politibabble.
> 
> This has been discussed within the last month here on the list, IIRC.

That might be current contemporary US usage, but it is not how the word
started. Originally it was used (In French I suspect) for states
terrorising the people they ruled, like the Russian pogroms. Later it
was widened to include non-governmental groups. In WW2 bombing of
residential cities was widely called "terror bombing" (even by Churchill
in private).

But it is a distinction without a difference. Who would you think had
the most capacity to wage war, a small state such as Nauru or St Lucia,
or an armed non-state like ETA or some of the Colombian gangs? Calling
this attack "war" or "terrorism" is a matter of emotional colour.

Ken