On Tuesday 04 December 2001 20:32, you wrote:
> > Trent Shipley wrote:
> > > Let me repeat that: ANY action by Palestinians is
> > > justified because they are legitimately in a war
> > > of national liberation against absurd odds.
>
> Correct me if I misunderstood, but I guess you are saying that it is ok to
> kill non-combatants? It's ok to explode a bomb and take out the mom with a
> baby and other nearby children because Palestine is up against absurd odds?
> How does ANY war for any reason justify killing innocent people?
>
> So would your reasoning and logic of "ANY action" justify Palestinians
> dropping a nuclear bomb into Israel?
>
> You might want to rethink that one Trent.
Why?
Yea. Why not. If the PLO had a bomb they *would* be "justified" in using it.
If American irregulars had nuclear devices and the US were occupied by the
Red Chinese, wouldn't you be happy to set them off in the top five Chinese
cities? If the military-political logic indicated a decent probability of
advancing the cause of national liberation I would be in favor of it, even if
it were to net the American population an unfavorable kill ratio.
=================
The Greeks committed acts of terrorism against the Ottoman Turks. They were
heros.
The Serbs committed acts of terrorism against the Austrians and Ottomans.
They were heros.
French Maquis commited acts of terrorism in WWII as did the Yugoslav
resistance. They were heros.
The Hagana commited terrorist acts against the British and Arabs. They were
heros.
Prior to and during WWI the IRA committed terrorist acts against the British
and protestants. They were heros.
The Algerians committed lots of terrorist/urban warfare operations against
the French and even the French left in the Metorpole thought they were heros.
The Viet Cong committed acts of terrorism against the French, South
Vietnamese Kleptocrats, Americans and Australians and everyone except
moderate and conservative Americans thought they were heros.
======
Counter examples exist.
========
The modern Real IRA commits terrorist acts against Britsh and Unionists and
almost everyone thinks they are terrorists.
Of course the movement for national liberation in Northern Ireland has
elements of an ethnic civil war combined with a war of national liberation
that makes it a bit of an odd case.
Serbian separatists in Croatia.
And the ETA is even unpopular among Basques. Basically everyone thinks they
are criminal terrorists.
============
But really none of this matters. War is about getting what a group wants by
violence. "Legitimacy" is about spin control.
I think it is very logical for Palestinians to wage war. The distribution of
power dictates that Palestinians must resort to asymetric warfare. Terrorism
is part-and-parcel of asymetric warfare. I don't see terrorism as
particularly more heinous than other methods of prosecuting a war. It is
more humane than strategic bombing or urban bombardment in any form.
Terrorism is just one option in a general's toolkit.
