March 21, 2011
By Gary D. Barnett
Do U.S. politicians and their puppets in the mainstream press really want to talk about terrorism and genocide happening in other countries? Do they really think that these accusations will not come back to haunt them? Contradictions and hypocrisy abound in this conversation, and it is about time that the truth is told.
According to Wikipedia, the word “terrorism” has over 100 meanings, and currently has no universally agreed upon, legally binding, criminal law definition. This is unfortunate, but most understand the real meaning whether they choose to apply it properly or not. The word “terror” comes from the Latin verb terrere meaning to be frantic with fear or terror. Generally speaking, terrorism is the use of violence or threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes. It is violent acts intended to create fear, and these acts are perpetrated for a religious, political or ideological goal, and deliberately target or disregard the safety of civilians. In November of 2004, a United Nations Secretary General report described terrorism as any act “intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act.” I think of terrorism as any act whatsoever intended to harm in any manner any innocent citizen or his property for the sake of gaining politically or economically, or by instilling fear so that these same ends can be achieved. In other words, any individual, group of individuals, or government apparatus that carries out any deliberate act of aggression that harms innocent civilians is committing a terrorist act! So who are the real terrorists in this world? Read More
