02-18-2010, 02:07 PM
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#6 (permalink)
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Crazy, indeed
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The_Dunedan
Terrorism...no. Terrorism is the use of violence against non-combatant targets in order to bring about an atmosphere of terror and force political change.
Assuming that this manifesto is accurate (and given our current Gov'ts penchant for "black bag" operations it may not be), an IRS building hardly qualifies as a "non-combatant target" in this whackjob's mind. The IRS is an armed agency of the State, with statutory powers to rob, kill, and kidnap people for what amount to grade-school paperwork errors. It's easy to see how a person, doubtless functioning under a great deal of stress and not gifted with great gobs of intelligence or discrimination, would do this kind of thing. Unintended consequences, as it were...but even the good Mssrs. Bowman, Kane, et al...made a point that it was stupid, counter-productive, inefficient and WRONG to go after the "worker bees." Additionally, he acknowledges that he will -not- bring about political change, so this cannot be his motive. Ergo, I don't think this could be called terrorism per se.
Suicide? Certainly. Attempted murder, in the hundreds of counts? Almost equally certainly, especially with regards to his attempts to burn down his house, wife, and daughter. It certainly indicates an unbalanced mind and severe issues with both target selection and impulse control. But I doubt terrorism.
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The pentagon and world trade center were not "non combatant" targets in the eyes of Bin Laden either (and Ward Churchill got in trouble for pointing out that precise idea).
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