Not a subject that many want to read about these days…..but what the Hell…………
I have been blogging for 10 years….nope does not make me some sort of expert…..just that is a long time to suffer from the regurgitation of the uninformed……if I see crap I have to say something……
Terrorism…speaking of crap. I have decided to white a white paper on terrorism….there is enough misinformation…..I will be writing a series on the subject……
I have been writing about terrorism since the mid-70’s when there was a rash of plane hijackings and now with the threat of terrorism an ever present threat it has gotten no easier.
When you try to help people understand most times you will run into a brick wall…..first when one tries to analyze the situation in a rational thought provoking way you will inevitably be resisted by those that feel that you are giving some sort of aid and comfort to the enemy….and sometimes you are accused of having sympathy for those that commit these acts of barbarity. These days terms like “politically correct” or “apologist” are the most common.
The problem is to most this is not a serious problem that needs to be understood….but rather a chance to pile lots of info that has been arrived at from some bias or another….
Even with all the resistance people like me still continue to inform and analyze…..most of us write off the resistance to ignorance.
Since the attacks of 9/11 the country has been obsessed with the defeat of terrorism…..there is one problem with that cute slogan…..terrorism is a tactic not an entity….we cannot defeat a tactic…..all we can do is learn about the tactic and use knowledge to lessen the effectiveness……
The definition of terrorism is all over the map….there is NO one acceptable definition…..what works for the military is not so straight forward when the PD gets a hold of it…..and then there are the public voices…these people have NO idea of what the definition is….they work off emotional rhetoric not facts.
Let’s begin with the definition of terrorism…..it is not as simple as that….examples below…….
State Department definition, Title 22 of the U.S. Code, Chapter 38, Section 2656f(d)(2): “Premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against non-combatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents.”
FBI definition: “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.”
Defense Department definition: “The unlawful use of violence or threat of violence to instill fear and coerce governments or societies. Terrorism is often motivated by religious, political, or other ideological beliefs and committed in the pursuit of goals that are usually political.” (JP 3-07.2)
My definition is “Propaganda By Deed”…..simple huh?
Those are the definitions that different agencies work off in this country…..but what about internationally?
United Nations Definition:
“…any act intended to cause death or serious bodily injury to a civilian, or to any other person not taking an active part in the hostilities in a situation of armed conflict, when the purpose of such act, by its nature or context, is to intimidate a population, or to compel a government or an international organization to do or to abstain from doing any act.”
As you can see just defining terrorism is a problem and yet someone wants to defeat a tactic……
But for such a widely used word, there’s actually no single definition of what “terrorism” means. There are many, and often, they’re incompatible.
Not only is the public confused about what to call “terrorism” — the U.S. government is as conflicted as anyone.
Then there is the color code for the chance of terrorism….

But for those that are not afraid of learning then maybe this article will be interesting than my rattling…..
Ramadan has ended peacefully with no ‘terrorist’ attacks in SA but is it safe to go out? Reports of ‘terror attacks during Ramadan’ in South Africa initiated by the US State Department sent waves of confusion and concern throughout the country.
The warning stated that ‘the government has received information that terrorist groups are planning to carry out near-term attacks against places where US citizens congregate in South Africa, such as upscale shopping areas and malls in Johannesburg and Cape Town’.
Source: Media Review Network » Riaz Gardee: Defining Terrorism
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