Each side calls the actions of the others terrorism, Osama Bin Laden considers his actions are legitimate warfare against an a powerful nation whom he regards as his enemy.
A dictionary definition of "terrorism: is:.
The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons. .
The definition goes on to offer some examples of the goals of terrorism:.
to coerce a group of people, such as a government, into granting certain demands.
to extract revenge for a perceived wrong.
to make life miserable for a government. .
Certainly one can fit the actions of Osama Bin Laden and his al Qaeda organization into this definition. The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were acts against people and property designed to intimidate the American government and its citizens for an ideological purpose. It was regarded as an attack against Western ideology and in defense of Bin Laden's view of Islam. The presence of American troops in Saudi Arabia, holy ground because it is the site of Mecca, the holiest of Islam's holy places. Presence of American troops is regarded as sacrilege. He also adds that it was to further the aims of the Palestinians for their own Attacks against civilians for a political objective. There are different types of terrorism under this definition. There can be physical terrorism such as the homeland and was an act of defense of this belief, of coercion and intimidation that cost the lives of 3,062 civilians on that day. .
While the world was shaken by the attack and the loss of so many lives, the world should recall the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima (6 August, 1945) and later on Nagasaki (9 August 1945), both non-military, civilian targets, which cost in Hiroshima: 66,000 dead and 69 000 injured, and in Nagasaki, 39,000 dead and 25,000 injured.
