Re: News Release

optikl wrote:
Rod Engelsman wrote:


Organized crime (mafia, drug cartels) are motivated by money, whereas terrorists are motivated by politics,


Don't see it. Explain the politics behind Islamic terrorism. I'd be interested in learning something. Seriously.

Separating Religion and Politics into separate realms is a relatively recent idea. It's an idea that hasn't really taken hold in the Islamic world and, in fact, Islamic fundamentalists like Osama bin Laden consider the idea of democratic self-government to be a heresy against Allah.

The ultimate goal of the Islamists is a world-encompassing Caliphate, a religious State. They've been pursuing that goal for over a thousand years.



If we send special forces (Army Rangers, Navy Seals, etc.) into an area incognito, does that make them terrorists rather than soldiers? Is a CIA operative a terrorist?

Sure, if they fit the definition. IMO, the modus operandi should define that. You need to look at who is doing what.



You need to look at three things: What you're doing, Why you're doing it, and How you're doing it.

The What is violence, with no clear distinction between military and non-military targets.
The Why is an ideological motivation (political or religious) with the primary goal being de-stabilization.
The How is asymmetrical, guerrilla, tactics.

While terrorists may be sponsored by a State, they are not acting in an official capacity as agents of a State.

So I object to the characterization of captured Taliban from Afghanistan as terrorists because:

They were attacking the military targets of an invading force.
They were motivated to protecting their homeland.
They were using primarily conventional weapons of war (guns and bombs).
The Taliban was the de facto government of Afghanistan when we invaded, so armed members of the Taliban, whether they wore any kind of uniform or not, were by practical definition, soldiers.

For the above reasons, I conclude that the captured Taliban are entitled to the protections of the Geneva Convention. The world knows this, and the Bush administration is acting in contravention to ratified Treaty obligations by ignoring these facts and inventing terms to avoid calling them POWs.

The Bush administration seems to want it both ways. The War on Terror is a war in the conventional sense when it suits them politically, and when it's not convenient, it's something else.

--

Rod
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