Is This A “Terrorist” Attack?

[Lawrence D'Oliveiro]

That drone strike against a US military facility in Jordan is being
described by many as a “terrorist” attack
<https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/29/what-is-tower-22-the-jordan-based-us-outpost-targeted-in-a-drone-strike>.

But the usual definition of “terrorism” is “indiscriminate violence
against civilians for political purposes”. And this was not a
“civilian” facility, it was very much a military one. So how could
that be described as “terrorism”?

(Of course, the rights and wrongs of the attack are an entirely
separate issue.)

[Willy Nilly]

On Tue, 30 Jan 2024, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <l...@nz.invalid> wrote:
>But the usual definition of “terrorism” is “indiscriminate violence
>against civilians for political purposes”.

So why haven't you described the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel as
terrorism?

[Lawrence D'Oliveiro]

On Tue, 30 Jan 2024 02:41:37 GMT, Willy Nilly wrote:

> So why haven't you described the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel as
> terrorism?

“It is important to also recognize the attacks by Hamas did not happen
in a vacuum. The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of
suffocating occupation. They have seen their land steadily devoured by
settlements and plagued by violence; their economy stifled; their
people displaced and their homes demolished. Their hopes for a
political solution to their plight have been vanishing.

“The grievances of the Palestinian people cannot justify the appalling
attacks by Hamas. And those appalling attacks cannot justify the
collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”

-- Antonio Guterrez, UN Secretary-General

from
<https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/un-chief-says-hamas-attacks-did-not-occur-in-vacuum-sparking-israeli-fury/>

[Tony]

Lawrence D'Oliveiro <l...@nz.invalid> wrote:

And the drone strike against a US military facility in Jordan also did not
happen in a vacuum.
This thread is idiotic because all sorts of countries and people have been
calling all sorts of attacks on military and civilian targets terrorism for
years.
Perhaps not strictly correctly but it is commonplace.
Basically the word terrorist is meaningless now.

[Lawrence D'Oliveiro]

On Tue, 30 Jan 2024 03:31:48 -0000 (UTC), Tony wrote:

> Basically the word terrorist is meaningless now.

One time I actually agree with you.

[Willy Nilly]

On Tue, 30 Jan 2024, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <l...@nz.invalid> wrote:

>On Tue, 30 Jan 2024 02:41:37 GMT, Willy Nilly wrote:
>> So why haven't you described the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel as
>> terrorism?
>

> ... The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of
> suffocating occupation.

Gaza was not occupied, moron, Israel fully withdrew from it 20 years
ago, in a bid for peace. But of course it went the other way. And
still you won't condemn Hamas terrorism. You are 100% phony.

[Lawrence D'Oliveiro]

On Tue, 30 Jan 2024 05:42:44 GMT, Willy Nilly wrote:

> On Tue, 30 Jan 2024, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <l...@nz.invalid> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 30 Jan 2024 02:41:37 GMT, Willy Nilly wrote:
>>> So why haven't you described the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel as
>>> terrorism?
>>
>> ... The Palestinian people have been subjected to 56 years of
>> suffocating occupation.
>

> Gaza was not occupied, moron ...

When somebody else controls all entry to and exit from your territory,
restricts your ability to earn a living from and travel through your own
territorial waters, controls your own airspace, determines what goods are
and aren’t allowed in or out, whether you get electrical power or not,
monitors your telecommunications, sets up surveillance cameras around your
border and shoots at anybody coming too close to it, conducts military
raids at will into your territory ...

If that is not “occupation”, what do you call it?

[Willy Nilly]

On Tue, 30 Jan 2024, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <l...@nz.invalid> wrote:
>On Tue, 30 Jan 2024 05:42:44 GMT, Willy Nilly wrote:
>> Gaza was not occupied, moron ...
>
>When somebody else controls all entry to and exit from your territory,
>restricts your ability to earn a living from and travel through your own
>territorial waters, controls your own airspace, determines what goods are
>and aren’t allowed in or out, whether you get electrical power or not,
>monitors your telecommunications, sets up surveillance cameras around your
>border and shoots at anybody coming too close to it, conducts military
>raids at will into your territory ...

You are putting the cart before the horse. Those restrictions were
put into place following Gazan terrorist acts, in a bid to stop
terrorism.

Your phrase "whether you get electrical power or not" is a real joke,
as rarely did the media report that Israel supplied Gaza electricity,
even during times of Gaza rockets and terrorism. In the last 10
years, the UN and various idiot countries have given Gaza so much
money, and did Gaza use that to build their own electricity generating
plants? Of course not, just to dig tunnels and build rockets.

>If that is not “occupation”, what do you call it?

I call your encyclopedic knowledge of this as signalling that you are
a willing propaganda puppet. Here's the elephant in the room, missing
from your list: Do you realise that there were only 100,000 Gazans in
1948, and today there are 2.4 million Gazans? Guess what, that is
going to create conflict regardless of anything else.

[Lawrence D'Oliveiro]

On Tue, 30 Jan 2024 06:47:20 GMT, Willy Nilly wrote:

> On Tue, 30 Jan 2024, Lawrence D'Oliveiro <l...@nz.invalid> wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 30 Jan 2024 05:42:44 GMT, Willy Nilly wrote:
>>
>>> Gaza was not occupied, moron ...
>>
>>When somebody else controls all entry to and exit from your territory,
>>restricts your ability to earn a living from and travel through your own
>>territorial waters, controls your own airspace, determines what goods
>>are and aren’t allowed in or out, whether you get electrical power or
>>not, monitors your telecommunications, sets up surveillance cameras
>>around your border and shoots at anybody coming too close to it,
>>conducts military raids at will into your territory ...
>
> You are putting the cart before the horse. Those restrictions were put
> into place following Gazan terrorist acts, in a bid to stop terrorism.

Einstein’s definition of insanity: trying the same thing over and over,
hoping for a different outcome each time.