terrorism is the new black
“Although President Vladimir Putin immediately linked the siege with the global war on terrorism, and charged that the action was planned in a “foreign terrorist center,” its roots more likely lie in a long-established tradition among Chechen insurgents of mounting dramatic terror strikes aimed at tilting the balance of power back in their favor.”
Behind the Moscow Theater Siege, TIME Magazine, 10/24/02
Though I detest the politicization and bleaching of the word “terrorism” since September 11th, I find it discouraging that Time Magazine countered Putin’s blaming of terrorism by saying it’s more likely “a long-established tradition…of mounting dramatic terror strikes aimed at tilting the balance of power back in their favor.” I mean doesn’t he have an equal claim to the word as Bush and Sharon?
It’s unclear to me how that quote does not describe a textbook case of “terrorism”. Just fill in the ellipses with you favorite rogue organization/state. Oh, unless of course “terrorism” is only that which seeks to counter American global interests. Then yeah, I see where Putin is totally off.
