What is war? Is it a battle? Is it struggle? What is war defined as? Well, for a debater it may be outsmarting the opposition with words. For an environmentalist it may be saving that last tree. For a traffic control officer it may be his constant battle with the traffic. However war is generally described as conflict between parties, whether it is between countries, people or ideas. The "war" in Iraq is a war of America vs. Iraq or America vs. Saddam Hussein (who, because of his dictatorship, could be known as Iraq because of his control of the country). The "war" on terror is a war against terrorists or more specifically, their extremist ideology. Although one could argue that both "wars" are based on the fact that both parties do things that are considered wrong, to those parties it appears that they are doing the right thing for themselves. To a terrorist, their sacrifice for the "cause" (whatever that may be) may be justified to them because they are doing what they think is right. Years of injustice towards a community, personal torment, radical beliefs and many other factors push people to the line that separates the common criminal from the terrorist. Common criminals do things for their own benefits like robbing banks for money, stealing drugs for a high or killing enemies for personal satisfaction. Terrorists capitalize on, obviously, terror. Terrorists do things to intimidate, to scare, to kill, to show what they believe in. Terrorists do not discuss or want to discuss their position with you - they believe that there is nothing more that can be said on the subject with you. They only see normal, innocent people as victims and statistics for their violence.
In the 19th century, certain people and countries began to use systematic terrorism to bring about social or political change. Dissidents in different parts of Europe used terror as a weapon in their push for independence and revolution.
