What is a Terrorist?

[STANKY808]

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0908-01.htm

Chechens = rebels

Palestinians = terrosists

[Jasonik]

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0908-01.htm

Chechens = rebels

Palestinians = terrosists
Ok, then WTF is a freedom fighter, or an insurgent?

[STANKY808]

I dunno. It all appears to be based on whomever is doing the labeling.

Remember central america in the 80's?

[travesty]

I think a terrorist is someone who conducts violent acts against "innocent" people in order to promote a political agenda.

Let the games begin!

[STANKY808]

You would think.

However, as revealed in the link I posted, there are some who call the Chechens rebels and others say terrorists. I seem to recall that the anti-government forces in Nicuragua in the 80's were called rebels, freedom fighters (contras) yet they used terror for political ends. Then you have the mujahadeen (my spelling bad) fighting the soviets in Afghanistan and they are freedom fighters then when the commies are gone and the mujahadeen become the taliban, still not so bad as to get themselves uninvited to the states for meetings with the oil indusrty. After 9/11, the taliban are terrorists. Did I miss something?

[travesty]

It is all pretty subjective at this point as the word has been so badly bastardized as of late. Personally I don't think that fighting an armed opponent makes you a terrorist. I would call that insurgents, or rebels. To me the target defines the attacker. Attacking unarmed civilians, certainly makes one a "terist". As for the Taliban, I think they they were screwed by association rather than actually committing a terrorist act.