The word terrorism is notoriously hard to define, for reasons which will become clear in a few minutes.
The term "terrorism" comes from Latin terrere, "to frighten." A dictionary definition is:
- the
act of terrorizing; use of force or threats to demoralize, intimidate,
and subjugate, esp. such use as a political weapon or policy
- the demoralization and intimidation produced in this way
"The
threat or actual use of violence in order to intimidate or create
panic, especially when utilized as a means of attempting to influence
political conduct."
Chapter 113B of
Part I of Title 18 of the United States Code defines terrorism and
lists the crimes associated with terrorism.[24] In Section 2331 of
Chapter 113b, terrorism is defined as:
"…activities
that involve violent… or life-threatening acts… that… appear to be
intended... to intimidate or coerce a civilian population;"
Edward Peck, former U.S. Chief of Mission in Iraq under Jimmy Carter:
"In
1985, when I was the Deputy Director of the Reagan White House Task
Force on Terrorism, they asked us... to come up with a definition of
terrorism that could be used throughout the government. We produced
about six, and each and every case, they were rejected, because careful
reading would indicate that our own country had been involved in some
of those activities. […] After the task force concluded its work,
Congress got into it, and you can Google into U.S. Code Title 18,
Section 2331, and read the US definition of terrorism. And one of them
in here says — one of the terms, 'international terrorism,' means
'activities that,' I quote, 'appear to be intended to affect the
conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination or
kidnapping.' […] Yes, well, certainly, you can think of a number of
countries that have been involved in such activities. Ours is one of
them. Israel is another. And so, the terrorist, of course, is in the
eye of the beholder."
For instance,
in 2000 Hans Von Sponeck, the head UNICEF official in Iraq from 1998 to
2000, placed the death toll from the 1990s US-led Iraq sanctions at
1.26 million, including 500,000 children under the age of five.
That would be the equivalent of almost 13 million American deaths, including 5 million helpless children.
Imagine
how hard it would be for Tony Soprano to create universal and objective
moral definitions condemning racketeering, blackmail, extortion and
intimidation that did not include his own activities...
Most
skeptics, particularly on the left, are deeply aware of the violence
and intimidation that the US government has used throughout its
history...
The death count for US imperialism has been conservatively estimated at almost 30,000,000 souls.
Three
times the body count of World War I. 10,000 times 9/11. Imagine a 9/11
attack every single day, somewhere in the US, for over 25 years
straight...
However, all this almost completely misses the point and true definition of terrorism.
- the
act of terrorizing; use of force or threats to demoralize, intimidate,
and subjugate, esp. such use as a political weapon or policy
- the demoralization and intimidation produced in this way
The
use or threat of violence against foreigners is only possible and
profitable because of the use or threat of violence against domestic
citizens.
Against – you.
Donald
Rumsfeld, George Bush, Paul Wolfowitz, Dick Cheney -- and all of the
war profiteers -- do not pay for the wars they start.
If they did, there would be no wars.
You pay for these wars.
The blood is on their hands.
The bill is in yours, and your children's.
Why do you pay for the wars?
Well, for the same reason that you would pay off Tony Soprano.
Because the government "uses force or threats to demoralize, intimidate, and subjugate" you.
If
you do not pay your taxes – your extortion - you will get a letter, and
then another letter, and then a court date, and then an extortion
notice for back taxes, interest and penalties.
If you do not pay off this extortion, armed thugs in costume will come to your house and drag you off to jail.
If
you resist, you will be brutally subdued – if you raise a gun to defend
yourself against this home invasion, you will be slaughtered like
livestock in a hail of bullets.
In
jail, you will be brutalized, tortured, raped, for months and years.
You may be released, eventually, like Winston Smith, a broken and
shattered soul.
This is the reality of human farming.
Violence,
kidnapping, torture and institutionalized "rape rooms" – these are all
threats designed to "demoralize, intimidate and subjugate" for the
political goals of regime change.
War is an effect of taxation.
Taxation is terrorism.
And that is only the beginning.
It is always hard to truly see the terrorism involved in advancing causes we believe are good.
Do
you like the idea of giving money to the poor, of reducing addiction to
hard drugs, of providing healthcare to the needy sick, and sustenance
to the aged?
I think that these are all goals that we would accept as good.
How are these goals pursued in a statist society?
First, terrorism is used to extract money from the general population.
Next, some of that money is used to pay for additional terrorism against people suspected or accused of drug use.
Next,
more money is used to pay for kidnapping and imprisonment. The torture
is shared between the guards and the fellow prisoners.
Remember: terrorism is:
"The
act of terrorizing; use of force or threats to demoralize, intimidate,
and subjugate, esp. such use as a political weapon or policy."
Every policy the government has is a political policy.
The only fundamental weapon any government has is the legal initiation of the use of force.
The initiation of violence in order to achieve a political policy is terrorism.
The war on drugs is a political policy which is entirely dependent upon the initiation of violence.
Public school education is a political policy which is entirely dependent upon the initiation of violence.
The welfare state is a political policy which is entirely dependent upon the initiation of violence.
Every goal the government pursues is a political policy which is entirely dependent upon the initiation of violence.
This is why terrorism is so impossible to define.
Statism is terrorism.
We are educated by terrorists.
We are controlled, kidnapped, imprisoned and bribed by terrorists.
And when we see it, and feel it, and speak it clearly, it will end.
List of US imperialist deaths: http://tinyurl.com/statism-6
About Stefan Molyneux
SkypeID: stefan_molyneux
About Freedomain Radio
Who am I?
Ahh, the eternal question...
I am Stefan Molyneux, the host of Freedomain Radio.
I have been a software entrepreneur and executive, co-founded a successful company and worked for many years as a Chief Technical Officer.
I studied literature, history, economics and philosophy at York University, hold an undergraduate degree in History from McGill University, and earned a graduate degree from the University of Toronto, focusing on the history of philosophy. I received an 'A' for my Master's Thesis analyzing the political implications of the philosophies of Immanuel Kant, G.W.F. Hegel, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke. I also spent two years studying writing and acting at the National Theatre School of Canada.
I have been fascinated by philosophy - particularly moral theories - since my mid-teens. Now, over 20 years later, a voluminous amount of mental sweat is finally bearing fruit! The Freedomain Radio conversation is designed to solve the problem of the ages, which is the definition and proof of a rational system of morality without reference to religion, and without violating the "is/ought" dichotomy.
I left my career as a software entrepreneur and executive, to pursue philosophy full time through my work here at Freedomain Radio. I have written a number of novels as well as many free books on philosophy. You can go to my book page to check them out.
Why should you listen to me?
An excellent question, I can see we're going to get along already!
First of all, I am completely unimportant in the conversation. In my podcasts and videos, I try to avoid opinions, and instead talk about proof and rationality. If the theories I propose are reasonable, and are supported by evidence, well and good, we have both learned something. If not, listeners such as you are quick to point out errors, which I receive with gratitude.
This approach is fundamentally different from most "talk shows." I am a rigorous philosopher, and I will always bow to reason and evidence. This is not a show about my opinions, because who would care about those?