bin Laden's son: My father is not a terrorist!

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

He said he doesn't consider his father to be a terrorist. When his father was fighting the Soviets, Washington considered him a hero, he said.

"Before they call it war; now they call it terrorism," he said. He said his father believes his duty is to protect Muslims from attack.

"He believes this is his job -- to help the people," he said. "I don't think my father is a terrorist because history tells you he's not."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/01/21/...ref=mpstoryview

[ThaiStyleUSA 1]

Oh really...I always thought that Britney Spears is a good mother and role model too.

[almaty 19]

that will help him get a visa

[panamania79 2]

He said he doesn't consider his father to be a terrorist. When his father was fighting the Soviets, Washington considered him a hero, he said.

"Before they call it war; now they call it terrorism," he said. He said his father believes his duty is to protect Muslims from attack.

"He believes this is his job -- to help the people," he said. "I don't think my father is a terrorist because history tells you he's not."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/01/21/...ref=mpstoryview

If he's not a terrorist,then I'm white and skinny.

[Dan J 277]

As the saying goes, One Man's Terrorist is Another's Freedom Fighter. Which is also why we will likely be dealing with Muslim extremeists for some time to come.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

that will help him get a visa

No kidding.

[Scott & Lai 12]

As the saying goes, One Man's Terrorist is Another's Freedom Fighter. Which is also why we will likely be dealing with Muslim extremeists for some time to come.

Freedom fighters attack the military. Terrorists attack unarmed civilians.

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

As the saying goes, One Man's Terrorist is Another's Freedom Fighter. Which is also why we will likely be dealing with Muslim extremeists for some time to come.

Freedom fighters attack the military. Terrorists attack unarmed civilians.

What does that make the Iraqi 'al Qaeda' who attack US forces?

Edited January 21, 2008 by VJ Troll

[Dan J 277]

As the saying goes, One Man's Terrorist is Another's Freedom Fighter. Which is also why we will likely be dealing with Muslim extremeists for some time to come.

Freedom fighters attack the military. Terrorists attack unarmed civilians.

So using that definition, with the 100,000 or so Iraqi civilian lives lost due to US actions (bombing or otherwise), does that make US soldiers terrorists?

[DeadPoolX 9]

He said he doesn't consider his father to be a terrorist. When his father was fighting the Soviets, Washington considered him a hero, he said.

"Before they call it war; now they call it terrorism," he said. He said his father believes his duty is to protect Muslims from attack.

"He believes this is his job -- to help the people," he said. "I don't think my father is a terrorist because history tells you he's not."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/01/21/...ref=mpstoryview

That line in particular struck me as funny. Just because you believe something, that doesn't make it true. If I suddenly believed that a calculator was a skateboard, well... I might think so, but that wouldn't make it one. Furthermore, even if Osama bin Laden did believe it was his duty to protect Muslims from attack, I can't imagine that waging war on Western Society (in general, the United States) would be a very effective tactic. If anything, that would cast him as a villain on the worldwide stage due to the events of September 11, 2001 and the amount of religious animosity he's stirred up since then. If he really wanted to protect Muslims from attack, he wouldn't have "punched the U.S. in the nose." It didn't take a genius to figure out that we'd respond and that there would be plenty of Muslim deaths in the process.

As the saying goes, One Man's Terrorist is Another's Freedom Fighter. Which is also why we will likely be dealing with Muslim extremeists for some time to come.

Freedom fighters attack the military. Terrorists attack unarmed civilians.

So using that definition, with the 100,000 or so Iraqi civilian lives lost due to US actions (bombing or otherwise), does that make US soldiers terrorists?

No, U.S. soldiers aren't terrorists and here's why: It's all about intent. Terrorists intend to kill civilians and cause panic, disorder and chaos. While the U.S. military is waging war, civilians are caught in the crossfire or within the blast radius of dropped bombs and killed -- however, the intent was never to kill those civilians, but to wipe out the hostile terrorist element.

I'm sure this difference doesn't mean a whole lot to those who've lost family members and friends in this conflict; however, the point is a valid one in that the intent behind the attack separates us from the terrorists.

Edited January 22, 2008 by DeadPoolX

[Dan J 277]

As the saying goes, One Man's Terrorist is Another's Freedom Fighter. Which is also why we will likely be dealing with Muslim extremeists for some time to come.

Freedom fighters attack the military. Terrorists attack unarmed civilians.

So using that definition, with the 100,000 or so Iraqi civilian lives lost due to US actions (bombing or otherwise), does that make US soldiers terrorists?

No, U.S. soldiers aren't terrorists and here's why: It's all about intent. Terrorists intend to kill civilians and cause panic, disorder and chaos. While the U.S. military is waging war, civilians are caught in the crossfire or within the blast radius of dropped bombs and killed -- however, the intent was never to kill those civilians, but to wipe out the hostile terrorist element.

I'm sure this difference doesn't mean a whole lot to those who've lost family members and friends in this conflict; however, the point is a valid one in that the intent behind the attack separates us from the terrorists.

Its as much as a matter of perspective as it is intent. It doesn't matter what the intent was, its still perceived much the same way as we perceive a terrorist attack against us.

Until we understand that our actions are part of the problem, we are not going to do much to change anything.

[wishbone 0]

that will help him get a visa

Ahahaha, or even for a Green card?!

[Ban Hammer 13,360]

As the saying goes, One Man's Terrorist is Another's Freedom Fighter. Which is also why we will likely be dealing with Muslim extremeists for some time to come.

not if we dust off and throw a neutron bomb or two at them.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

As the saying goes, One Man's Terrorist is Another's Freedom Fighter. Which is also why we will likely be dealing with Muslim extremeists for some time to come.

Freedom fighters attack the military. Terrorists attack unarmed civilians.

So using that definition, with the 100,000 or so Iraqi civilian lives lost due to US actions (bombing or otherwise), does that make US soldiers terrorists?

My troops hit soft targets accidentally... your terrorists hit soft targets intentionally. See the difference?

[Dan J 277]

As the saying goes, One Man's Terrorist is Another's Freedom Fighter. Which is also why we will likely be dealing with Muslim extremeists for some time to come.

Freedom fighters attack the military. Terrorists attack unarmed civilians.

So using that definition, with the 100,000 or so Iraqi civilian lives lost due to US actions (bombing or otherwise), does that make US soldiers terrorists?

My troops hit soft targets accidentally... your terrorists hit soft targets intentionally. See the difference?

And you totally missed my point. Would you really feel differently if your family member was killed as a "soft target" from an opposing force or an intentional target of a terroristic act?

Regardless of how you justifiy civilian deaths. It will not stop some from perceiving our actions as terrorists acts.

This is much more of an idealogical war, than it is a military one. Maybe one day our leaders will figure that out.