At 01:17 PM 9/11/2001 -0400, Rick wrote:
> If this was not an act of terrorism, the only alternative is that
> it was a deliberate act of war on the part of another nation perpetrated
> against the United States of America.
I started to say something similar to this earlier, although I would not
have gone so far as to say is from another nation... just a group.
I think a large reason we view it as terrorism rather than war is because,
as a nation the US believes itself to be at peace. Many groups around the
world (and within the US border) have declared war on the US, its
government, and/or its citizens. These groups are typically viewed as
posing no risk to the US, especially at home. As a result the declaration
of war has never been fully recognized by the US.
To people in those groups, todays acts might not be seen as terrorism but
as acts of war. To go further, these actions could be viewed as retaliation
for past actions the US is believed to have committed against certain
groups. It's a matter of perspective. FOR EXAMPLE (and not an attempt to
assign blame for events of today): The US has bombed various sites in Iraq
(as well as other countries around the world), resulting in civilian
casualties and the destruction of buildings. Today's events resulted in the
same thing. We just happen to be on the receiving end this time.
Perhaps the time has come for the US to realize that we are more vulnerable
to attack than we would like to admit. And, it might be time to realize
that we are at war with various groups around the world (including some
groups within the US border) who pose a more serious threat to the safety
of US citizens than we are comfortable admitting. As much as we might like
our fellow Americans, there are people in the world that view the US and
all US citizens as the enemy.
I want to make it clear that I am not assigning blame to any group, nor am
I suggesting we should declare war on any nation or its citizens. I simply
wanted to point out that how you interpret today's events depends on views
of the world and past events that might not be shared by everyone.
- Marc
G. Marc Turner, MEd, Net+
Lecturer & Head of Computer Operations
Department of Psychology
Southwest Texas State University
San Marcos, TX 78666
phone: (512)245-2526
email: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
