Volconvo Debate Forums - View Single Post

RebelWithanAK · Nov 10, 2003, 11:27 pm

rmnunez, you've hit on something, and I'd like to contend with you that Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups, as well as Al Qaeda, are also primarily politically motivated. But before I do that, I must say, they are terrorist groups. Tactically, they seek to terrorise the populace to foment political change. None of this "they're a 'terrorist' group" kind of gerrymandering. However, terrorism in this case isn't as vile as would be, as these are guerilla fighters against a vastly better armed and better trained enemy.

The Palestinian effort has expressed goals in the defense of Palestinian territories and livelihoods that are being subdivided by strategically placed 'settlements' and the walls and military-defended fences that they have. The fight is for a Palestinian sovereignty, which is at the moment nonexistant, as well as the economic livelihood of Palestinian peoples who do not have citizenship (90% of them) It is hard to farm or go to work or school when such endeavors are walled off and defended by the IDF - checkpoints that one cannot get past for hours or even days at a time, checkpoints that the Israeli government and army can reserve the right to turn anyone back as they please. This, coupled with incursions and an unending development of new settlements presents a clear and present threat to the continued possibility of a Palestinian homeland - which is certainly a problem when these people have been here for hundreds of years.

So they use terrorist tactics - snipers, suicide bombs, et cetera. These are the same tactics they used successfully to oust the Israelis from Lebanon. These are the tactics that the Tamil Tigers have been doing for decades (in fact, the Tamils have the highest number of instances where suicide bombings were used to date). These are the same tactics used by Al Qaeda, which is not to say that Hamas is the same as Al Qaeda, nor is it affiliated with the Tamil Tigers.

Al Qaeda also has political aims - one of which, ironically enough, was the removal of American troops from Saudi Arabia. It also has clearly defined demands as to the establishment of a Palestinian state, the pullback of American forces in all the middle east (especially Iraq), and for the US to cut support to the Israeli government. These demands are not unfounded, and are quite necessary to allow the middle east a sovereignty and an independence from the West that it has never had before. Al Qaeda does not have a country, but it pulls radicals from all pan-Arab nations and most of the Muslim world. It is as nationalistic as NATO or the east Asian bloc.

Nov 10, 2003, 11:27 pm	#92 (permalink) (top)
RebelWithanAK Igneous Magma Location: New York City Posts: 739	rmnunez, you've hit on something, and I'd like to contend with you that Hamas and other Palestinian terrorist groups, as well as Al Qaeda, are also primarily politically motivated. But before I do that, I must say, they are terrorist groups. Tactically, they seek to terrorise the populace to foment political change. None of this "they're a 'terrorist' group" kind of gerrymandering. However, terrorism in this case isn't as vile as would be, as these are guerilla fighters against a vastly better armed and better trained enemy. The Palestinian effort has expressed goals in the defense of Palestinian territories and livelihoods that are being subdivided by strategically placed 'settlements' and the walls and military-defended fences that they have. The fight is for a Palestinian sovereignty, which is at the moment nonexistant, as well as the economic livelihood of Palestinian peoples who do not have citizenship (90% of them) It is hard to farm or go to work or school when such endeavors are walled off and defended by the IDF - checkpoints that one cannot get past for hours or even days at a time, checkpoints that the Israeli government and army can reserve the right to turn anyone back as they please. This, coupled with incursions and an unending development of new settlements presents a clear and present threat to the continued possibility of a Palestinian homeland - which is certainly a problem when these people have been here for hundreds of years. So they use terrorist tactics - snipers, suicide bombs, et cetera. These are the same tactics they used successfully to oust the Israelis from Lebanon. These are the tactics that the Tamil Tigers have been doing for decades (in fact, the Tamils have the highest number of instances where suicide bombings were used to date). These are the same tactics used by Al Qaeda, which is not to say that Hamas is the same as Al Qaeda, nor is it affiliated with the Tamil Tigers. Al Qaeda also has political aims - one of which, ironically enough, was the removal of American troops from Saudi Arabia. It also has clearly defined demands as to the establishment of a Palestinian state, the pullback of American forces in all the middle east (especially Iraq), and for the US to cut support to the Israeli government. These demands are not unfounded, and are quite necessary to allow the middle east a sovereignty and an independence from the West that it has never had before. Al Qaeda does not have a country, but it pulls radicals from all pan-Arab nations and most of the Muslim world. It is as nationalistic as NATO or the east Asian bloc. . . . whenever any government becomes destructive to these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government, laying its foundations on such principles and organizing its powers in such forms as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness.