WE'RE A DEMOCRACY, WE'RE ALL COMBATANTS:

Traitor, Bomber, Soldier, Spy: Stop crying "terrorism" every time we're attacked. (William Saletan, Jan. 11, 2010, Slate)

Terrorists? No, Sir. The bombing of the CIA base, like the November massacre at Ft. Hood, Texas, was an act of war. It was also espionage. But it wasn't terrorism. Terrorism targets civilians. The CIA officers killed at the Afghan base, like the soldiers shot down at Ft. Hood, were not civilians. They were running a war.

According to the U.S. Code (Title 22, Chapter 38, Section 2656f), "the term 'terrorism' means premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents." That's the definition we apply to other countries when we designate them as state sponsors of terrorism.

The Sept. 11 attacks, which used planes full of civilians to hit the World Trade Center, fit this definition. So did the attempt to blow up Northwest Flight 253 on Christmas Day. So did the Taliban's 2008 bombing of a hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan.

But the attack on the Pentagon wasn't terrorism and since United 93 may have been headed to the White House and targeting the Commander-in-Chief that wasn't either. Get it?

Posted by Orrin Judd at January 12, 2010 7:07 AM