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The Key War on Terror Propaganda Tool: Only Western Victims Are Acknowledged

theintercept.com

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Re: The Key War on Terror Propaganda Tool: Only Western Victims Are Acknowledged

#51

Post by DanBC »

omonra wrote: post #48
lolc wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many definitions of terrorism require targeting civilians. So your statements are trivially true. There have been attacks on people in uniform by people identifying as Muslims. These were labeled as terrorist attacks too, so your second statement is not true if you follow the broader definition. One wrong does not justify another, unless of course you decide to follow their logic.

We were talking about drone operators as being equivalent targets to whoever Americans blow up with drone (with concomitant collateral damage). I pointed out that no muslim terrorists have killed people while attempting to kill drone operators (or other specifically targeted military personnel). And why jump through verbal hoops with 'people identifying as Muslims'. Don't we have a word for that - 'muslims'? Is there…

It's pretty handy to seperate out a tiny number (maybe 200,000 people) of terrorists from the much larger group of non-terrorist Muslims.

Like we don't talk about the Christian terrorists killing doctors in the US, we use other language to describe them.

Re: The Key War on Terror Propaganda Tool: Only Western Victims Are Acknowledged

#52

Post by lolc »

omonra wrote: post #48
lolc wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Many definitions of terrorism require targeting civilians. So your statements are trivially true. There have been attacks on people in uniform by people identifying as Muslims. These were labeled as terrorist attacks too, so your second statement is not true if you follow the broader definition. One wrong does not justify another, unless of course you decide to follow their logic.

We were talking about drone operators as being equivalent targets to whoever Americans blow up with drone (with concomitant collateral damage). I pointed out that no muslim terrorists have killed people while attempting to kill drone operators (or other specifically targeted military personnel). And why jump through verbal hoops with 'people identifying as Muslims'. Don't we have a word for that - 'muslims'? Is there…

> I pointed out that no muslim terrorists have killed people while attempting to kill drone operators (or other specifically targeted military personnel).

I don't see how this is relevant. We already accept that terrorism is not justifiable, we're discussing whether drone strikes are terrorism.

> And why jump through verbal hoops with 'people identifying as Muslims'.

Because being Muslim is not a terrorist's defining characteristic. One defining characteristic would be a disregard for human life.

Re: The Key War on Terror Propaganda Tool: Only Western Victims Are Acknowledged

#53

Post by omonra »

lolc wrote: post #52
omonra wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We were talking about drone operators as being equivalent targets to whoever Americans blow up with drone (with concomitant collateral damage). I pointed out that no muslim terrorists have killed people while attempting to kill drone operators (or other specifically targeted military personnel). And why jump through verbal hoops with 'people identifying as Muslims'. Don't we have a word for that - 'muslims'? Is there…

> I pointed out that no muslim terrorists have killed people while attempting to kill drone operators (or other specifically targeted military personnel). I don't see how this is relevant. We already accept that terrorism is not justifiable, we're discussing whether drone strikes are terrorism. > And why jump through verbal hoops with 'people identifying as Muslims'. Because being Muslim is not a terrorist's defining…

>I don't see how this is relevant. We already accept that terrorism is not justifiable, we're discussing whether drone strikes are terrorism.

I replied to this comment "Ironically, much of the personnel involved in the U.S. drone program lives and works stateside, among the civilian population." My point is that the fact that drone operators live among civilian population makes no difference since no muslim (or otherwise) terrorists have tried to attack them, thus killing innocents as collateral damage - which is how civilians in Afghanistan or Pakistan are killed.

>Because being Muslim is not a terrorist's defining characteristic. One defining characteristic would be a disregard for human life.

So why are they 'people identifying as Muslims' instead of 'muslims'? Are other muslims refusing to accept them as muslim?

Separately, their religious identity is their defining characteristic. Same way that communists' who killed millions in Russia and China political affiliation was fundamental to their identity.

While we probably can't say this about middle east civil war participants, the muslim terrorists who kill people in the West are driven primarily by their religion. If they weren't, they would be small-time crooks or drug dealers at worst. Somehow their religion turned them into murderous psychopaths - let's not beat around the bush here.

Re: The Key War on Terror Propaganda Tool: Only Western Victims Are Acknowledged

#54

Post by lolc »

omonra wrote: post #53
lolc wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I pointed out that no muslim terrorists have killed people while attempting to kill drone operators (or other specifically targeted military personnel). I don't see how this is relevant. We already accept that terrorism is not justifiable, we're discussing whether drone strikes are terrorism. > And why jump through verbal hoops with 'people identifying as Muslims'. Because being Muslim is not a terrorist's defining…

>I don't see how this is relevant. We already accept that terrorism is not justifiable, we're discussing whether drone strikes are terrorism. I replied to this comment "Ironically, much of the personnel involved in the U.S. drone program lives and works stateside, among the civilian population." My point is that the fact that drone operators live among civilian population makes no difference since no muslim (or other…

> I replied to this comment "Ironically, much of the personnel involved in the U.S. drone program lives and works stateside, among the civilian population."

I think that comment was meant to convey that drone operators are hard to reach for your average terrorist. Why is it important to state that 'Muslim' terrorists have only attacked civilians so far? (A claim that is not true as I've pointed out before.)

> Somehow their religion turned them into murderous psychopaths

'Somehow' some people get turned into murderous psychopaths by religion and some others do not. Is that the depth of your analysis?

Re: The Key War on Terror Propaganda Tool: Only Western Victims Are Acknowledged

#55

Post by omonra »

lolc wrote: post #54
omonra wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>I don't see how this is relevant. We already accept that terrorism is not justifiable, we're discussing whether drone strikes are terrorism. I replied to this comment "Ironically, much of the personnel involved in the U.S. drone program lives and works stateside, among the civilian population." My point is that the fact that drone operators live among civilian population makes no difference since no muslim (or other…

> I replied to this comment "Ironically, much of the personnel involved in the U.S. drone program lives and works stateside, among the civilian population." I think that comment was meant to convey that drone operators are hard to reach for your average terrorist. Why is it important to state that 'Muslim' terrorists have only attacked civilians so far? (A claim that is not true as I've pointed out before.) > Somehow…

>I think that comment was meant to convey that drone operators are hard to reach for your average terrorist. Why is it important to state that 'Muslim' terrorists have only attacked civilians so far? (A claim that is not true as I've pointed out before.)

I don't think that's what the comment conveyed. I believe his point was to show that US drone operators are also living in civilian areas (similar to Hamas or whatever who operate among civilians). Thus if someone were to attack them, they could claim to kill civilians purely as collateral damage.

>'Somehow' some people get turned into murderous psychopaths by religion and some others do not. Is that the depth of your analysis?

False. Somehow we (today - perhaps it was different around the Crusades or 100 year war in Europe) don't have a problem of Christian terrorism, Jewish terrorism or Buddhist terrorism. Yet there is a really big problem of Muslim terrorism - so there must be something in whatever version of that religion (perhaps backward but rich Saudis spreading their version of it are responsible) that's causing it.

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