[fintstone]

Originally Posted by GWN7

So before 1976 bad and after 1976 ok? And it was ok because Nixon said so?


"The word "terrorism" is politically loaded and emotionally charged, and this greatly compounds the difficulty of providing a precise definition. A study on political terrorism examining over 100 definitions of "terrorism" found 22 separate definitional elements (e.g. Violence, force, fear, threat, victim-target differentiation). In some cases, the same group may be described as "freedom fighters" by its supporters and considered to be terrorists by its opponents. The concept of terrorism may be controversial as it is often used by state authorities (and individuals with access to state support) to delegitimize political or other opponents, and potentially legitimize the state's own use of armed force against opponents (such use of force may be described as "terror" by opponents of the state). At the same time, the reverse may also take place when states perpetrate or are accused of perpetrating state terrorism. The usage of the term has a controversial history, with individuals such as ANC leader Nelson Mandela at one point also branded a terrorist."

No, it was just illegal for Americans to do so after 1976 (Ford). Prior to that, no problem. It was not addressed in the US Constitution or US law before that.

Nope, I had no problem with it in 1975....or with the 5 US backed attempts between 1960 and 1975. Ford did. Probably for public relations reasons.

The terrorists/freedom fighters you refer to are unlawful combatants per the Geneva Convention, and should be treated as such. Mandela was a terrorist and the ANC was a terrorist organization.