I also think this is an interesting remark by TheRubric in the comments section following the article that gets to the heart of why this discussion of the term is important:
For me, your distinction between intentional fearmongering and unintentional fearmongering as a denotation of terrorism is a baseless one. However, even accepting your position, that the intent is a solid differentiator between say a suicide attack and an aerial bombardment, I would argue that engendering fear in the ranks of the opposition is always an overt aim of political violence regardless of scale and the relative formality of combattants.
The following quote from Voltaire is, IMO, pertinent.
“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.”
By dominating the rules of the game the Western powers can delegitimise opposition to their formalised military apparatuses. A key part of maintaining legitimacy and domination is the sociopolitical construction of the terrorist.
U.S. Acknowledges Killing 4 Americans in Drone Strikes - NYTimes.com
In a letter to Congressional leaders obtained by The New York Times, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. disclosed that the administration had deliberately killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical Muslim cleric who was killed in a drone strike in September 2011 in Yemen.
The American responsibility for Mr. Awlaki’s death has been widely reported, but the administration had until now refused to confirm or deny it.
The letter also said that the United States had killed three other Americans: Samir Khan, who was killed in the same strike; Mr. Awlaki’s son Abdulrahman al-Awlaki, who was also killed in Yemen; and Jude Mohammed, who was killed in a strike in Pakistan.
Drones and the Rivalry Between the U.S. and China - NYTimes.com
The arms race between China and America accelerates…
At present, the United States-China relationship is really just about economics. As long as that relationship remains vibrant, confrontation is in neither country’s interest. But should that slender reed snap, there is little in the way of a larger political relationship, let alone alliance, to take its place. The only thing between crisis and conflict, then, would be two ever larger, more dangerous navies, prepared to fight a breed of drone-centric war we don’t yet fully understand, and so are all the more likely to fall into.
Some old school totalitarian military parade marching.
China - The largest army in the world 2 - full (official) (by madboyfull)
(Thanks Rob R.)
US Pavilion at Venice Biennale 2011
A rebel fighter prays along a road in Wadi al Hamra, Libya - March 29, 2011.
U.S. Military Weapons Inscribed With Secret ‘Jesus’ Bible Codes - ABC News (Jan 18, 2010)
Update (April 22, 2013): Army removes bible references from scope.
“It blows my mind,” the solider said. “It doesn’t help the Army do its mission to take off a biblical reference.”
The soldier, who is a Christian, said he had to comply so “someone doesn’t get offended.”
“We have classes on equal opportunity – things that are clearly irrelevant to our mission – which is to kill the enemy.”
Real-life Grave of the Fireflies: (Photo) Stoic Japanese orphan, standing at attention having brought his dead younger brother to a cremation pyre, Nagasaki, by Joe O’Donnell 1945
This photograph was taken by an American photojournalist, Joe O’Donnell, in Nagasaki in 1945.
He recently spoke to a Japanese interviewer about this picture:
“I saw a boy about ten years old walking by. He was carrying a baby on his back. In those days in Japan, we often saw children playing with their little brothers or sisters on their backs, but this boy was clearly different. I could see that he had come to this place for a serious reason. He was wearing no shoes. His face was hard. The little head was tipped back as if the baby were fast asleep.
“The boy stood there for five or ten minutes. The men in white masks walked over to him and quietly began to take off the rope that was holding the baby. That is when I saw that the baby was already dead. The men held the body by the hands and feet and placed it on the fire.
“The boy stood there straight without moving, watching the flames. He was biting his lower lip so hard that it shone with blood. The flame burned low like the sun going down. The boy turned around and walked silently away.”
(Source: acegasm)
