Acts of Terrorism megathread

[dps]

This sounds to me more like the rationalization of someone who prefers touchy feely policies (for whatever reason, probably first principles) than a carefully considered analysis of the motivations and goals of terrorists.

You don't think some terrorists are motivated by accelerationism?

Yeah, I mean what is a terrorist other than someone hoping to motivate people into particular courses of action through fear? I suppose there could be terrorists naive enough to think they could scare western nations into doing nothing, but given how we continue to overreact, I can't think that theory holds sway for the majority of these terrorists.

I think you're giving them too much credit.  Most terrorists, I think, are probably either trying to achieve goals that their attacks have no real hope of bring about (like forcing the US to withdraw any troops we have in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States), or just want to kill infidels, or are just blindly striking out with no coherent though-out goals.

Now the people who aren't actually carrying out terrorist attacks, but are the organizers, suppliers, and other supporters behind them, that's another story.

[Maximus]

I think you're giving them too much credit.  Most terrorists, I think, are probably either trying to achieve goals that their attacks have no real hope of bring about (like forcing the US to withdraw any troops we have in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States), or just want to kill infidels, or are just blindly striking out with no coherent though-out goals.

Now the people who aren't actually carrying out terrorist attacks, but are the organizers, suppliers, and other supporters behind them, that's another story.

I think you have too narrow of a definition of terrorist.

[dps]

I think you have too narrow of a definition of terrorist.

Care to elaborate on that, or even just explain exactly what you think my definition of terrorist is?

[mongers]

I think you have too narrow of a definition of terrorist.

Care to elaborate on that, or even just explain exactly what you think my definition of terrorist is?

CdM has been terrorising this forum for years.

[CountDeMoney]

Assholes deserve it.

[mongers]

Assholes deserve it.

I wasn't disapproving. 

[Eddie Teach]

I think you have too narrow of a definition of terrorist.

Care to elaborate on that, or even just explain exactly what you think my definition of terrorist is?

He's saying organizers and suppliers are also terrorists.

[dps]

I think you have too narrow of a definition of terrorist.

Care to elaborate on that, or even just explain exactly what you think my definition of terrorist is?

He's saying organizers and suppliers are also terrorists.

I wasn't saying that they aren't.  I was merely saying that subtle thinking isn't a hallmark of most terrorists, and that minority who do have subtle, long-term plans are likely to be among the organizers, not the guys actually carrying out the attacks.

[Maximus]

What Eddie said.

subtle thinking isn't a hallmark of most terrorists

And you're basing this statement on what?

and that minority who do have subtle, long-term plans are likely to be among the organizers, not the guys actually carrying out the attacks.

And if this were true, so what? What difference does it make whether the plans are made by the guys in front or the guys behind?

[Duque de Bragança]

In the Russian Far East, not far from China. First Russian reports blamed a neo-nazi, then Daesh claimed it. 

Russia's Federal Security Service said on Friday that a gunman had burst into one of its regional offices in the far east of the country and opened fire, killing one of its employees and a visitor.

The region where the incident happened is close to China. The FSB, the successor organization to the Soviet KGB, said the attacker had been killed and that another person had been injured in the incident.

"An unknown person entered the reception of the FSB's Khabarovsk regional branch and started shooting at people inside," the FSB said in a statement.

The Site Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based monitoring service, said that Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the attack. It said that the claim of responsibility had been made through the militant group's Amaq news agency.

That contradicted earlier media reports, which said the FSB believed the gunman was a nationalist. The TASS news agency cited an unnamed FSB official as saying that the gunman was a local resident and born in 1999.

The visitor who was killed and the one who was injured were from former Soviet states outside Russia, according to the security service.

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-russia-attack-idUSKBN17N17C?il=0

[Valmy]

Daesh claiming it means nothing. If I shot myself right now Daesh would claim credit.

[CountDeMoney]

Daesh claiming it means nothing. If I shot myself right now Daesh would claim credit.

I don't know why people even report that;  lefty groups used to do it all the time in the 1970s, and they didn't even know all the facts of what happened before they called in a communique.

[Duque de Bragança]

Daesh claiming it means nothing. If I shot myself right now Daesh would claim credit.

I don't know why people even report that;  lefty groups used to do it all the time in the 1970s, and they didn't even know all the facts of what happened before they called in a communique.

My point is that neo-nazis does not seem very convincing too.

[CountDeMoney]

Concur.  Waiting on the Russians to pin it on a Latvian.

[Solmyr]

Concur.  Waiting on the Russians to pin it on a Latvian.

Or domestic liberal opposition.