What is Terrorism?

Terrorism is destruction of people or property by people not acting on behalf of an established government for the purpose of redressing a real or imaginary injustice attributed to an established government and aimed directly or indirectly at an established government.

Not all cases of destruction of people or property are terrorism. The important definitive characteristics of terrorism are:

1. the act of destruction is performed by a person or group of persons not acting on behalf of an established government ,
2. the act of destruction is performed to redress a real or imaginary injustice, and
3. the act is aimed directly or indirectly at an established government, who is seen as the cause of the injustice.

Without these characteristics an act of destruction of people or property is not terrorism. It is either an accident, or an act of war, or a matter of internal policy, or an ordinary common law crime (murder, arson, etc).

• If destruction of people or property is caused unintentionally, it is an accident.
• If destruction of people or property is undertaken by or on behalf of an established government against another country, it is considered war, not terrorism.
• If destruction of people or property is undertaken by or on behalf of an established government on its own territory, it is considered a matter of policy, not terrorism.
• If destruction of people or property is undertaken without justification, it is considered an ordinary common law crime, not terrorism.
• If destruction of people or property is not aimed against an established government, but is aimed at a private individual or group, it is considered an ordinary common law crime, not terrorism, even if such act is aimed at redressing a wrong, because disputes between private individuals should be settled through an established legal system operated by an established government, not by taking law in one’s own hands.