Terror in my country :(

[The Conquistador]

Originally Posted by SluttyShemaleAnna

So what makes a terrorist? if the millitary are not legitimate targets, then why is not terrorist and soldier interchangeable? ... So you tell me, what do you call a terrorist?

Fighting as a distinguished combatant or a legitimate soldier in defense of ones country is what seperates terrorists from soldiers.

1) Terrorists don't don military garb and engage the enemy as a proper military force; they blend in with the civilian population and try to draw enemy fire into the crowds with the purpose of trying to incite and inflame.

2) Terrorists operate by fear. They attack their own and other civilian populations to try and belittle them into not fighting or helping out any other forces other than their own; nor do they have any sense of what collateral damages are. We try to win hearts and minds; we've built up the infrastructure and brought decent medical care and things of the sort to the nations we invade. I don't hear Al-Quaeda doing that.

3) The Pentagon attack was not a legitimate military targat as they had not identified themselves as a legitimate force, and they did take hostages when they hijacked the plane. The USS Cole was also not a legitimate military target as the Cole was docked and refueling and was not engaged in hostile actions. Soldiers do not take hostages nor do they engage targets unless they are openly hostile.


Military are legitimate targets if they are openly hostile. If it is just a presence and there are no acts of violence towards the population, military or not, there is no cause or need for retaliatory violence. Same reason why we don't shoot EPW's(Enemy Prisoners of War) when they surrender.