What is a Terrorist?
Interestingly enough, the Department of Defense, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the State Department all have different definitions of terrorism.
Department of Defense
http://usiraq.procon.org/sourcefiles/InsurgentsvsTerrorists.pdf
The calculated use of unlawful violence to inculcate fear, intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
http://www.fbi.gov/publications/terror/terror99.pdf
[T]he unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives
State Department
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/20177.pdf
[P]remeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by sub-national groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.
A Common Theme
Though the definitions are a bit redundant, there are a few key words that each department shares in use:
-Unlawful
-Violence
-Intimidate
-Influence
For purpose of this website, we will subscribe to the Department of Defense's definition since they mention fear, religion, and ideology.
"You can kill a man but you can't kill an idea."-Medgar Evers [1]
"Kahless has been dead for a thousand years; but the idea of Kahless is still alive. Have you ever fought an idea, Picard? It has no weapon to destroy, no body to kill."
— Gowron, Star Trek: The Next Generation [2]
Fear, religion, and ideology are all intangible and therefore impossible to fully subdue, unlike an insurgency.
-Unlawful
-Violence
-Intimidate
-Influence
For purpose of this website, we will subscribe to the Department of Defense's definition since they mention fear, religion, and ideology.
"You can kill a man but you can't kill an idea."-Medgar Evers [1]
"Kahless has been dead for a thousand years; but the idea of Kahless is still alive. Have you ever fought an idea, Picard? It has no weapon to destroy, no body to kill."
— Gowron, Star Trek: The Next Generation [2]
Fear, religion, and ideology are all intangible and therefore impossible to fully subdue, unlike an insurgency.
References:
[1] "Medgar Evers," Quote World, Accessed 12 Feb 2012, http://www.quoteworld.org/quotes/4654
[2] "You Cannot Kill an Idea," TV Tropes, Accessed 12 Feb 2012, http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YouCanNotKillAnIdea
[2] "You Cannot Kill an Idea," TV Tropes, Accessed 12 Feb 2012, http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/YouCanNotKillAnIdea