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Subject: Use of terrorism
Big Bad Pariah    9/7/2004 2:10:28 AM
Do you think terrorism can be at all effective? For example, Jewish settlers used terrorism effectively against the British in their attempt to create a Jewish state. Terrorism is a disgusting tactic that is usually counterproductive in my opinion. However, one man's terrorist is sometimes another man's freedom fighter. Thoughts?
 
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TriggaFingaz    Use of terrorism?   9/7/2004 6:49:04 PM
Use of terrorism? To terrorise I believe. As for that 'is another man's freedom fighter', I doubt that has any validity. Terrorists want to grab power for themselves. Almost all terrorists who grabbed power brought oppression and more misery when they graduated to be tyrants. Chechnya comes to mind when Basyayev became PM....
 
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sentinel28a    RE:Use of terrorism   9/8/2004 3:07:44 AM
Hmm, not a good analogy, BBP. While I would definitely count Menachem Begin's Stern Gang to be terrorists, the majority of Israeli settlers did not resort to killing British soldiers or blowing up hotels (and even the Stern Gang gave warnings that the British failed to heed). Nor did the Stern Gang, say, blow up a school in Manchester or try to assassinate the King. Finally, once Ben-Gurion was in power, the Stern Gang was crushed as a military and political force. Check out the "Altalena" incident in which the Haganah and Stern Gang went at it.
 
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sanman    RE:Use of terrorism   9/8/2004 1:55:43 PM
Terrorists invariably all regard themselves as revolutionaries, and revolutionary ideology has its pitfalls, a la Animal Farm. What matters is what ideology and plans they have beyond their liberation ideology and tactics. That's what distinguishes a real freedom fighter from being just another thug with a gun. If you insist on using the Israel example, at least look at the greater social and technical development plans that the zionists had for their people. Contrast that with Arafat and his inability to balance a budget, hold elections within a defined territorial jurisdiction, or do anything useful for his people in general. If your violent acts are simply done along the lines of "let me worry about getting liberated first, and I don't really care about what happens later on, because it'll all magically fall into place once I get power" -- then yeah, you're pretty much just another thug with a gun -- a terrorist.
 
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