Threat to terrorism: reassessing terrorism as a moral category. Thomas Jefferson, American Founding Father and principal author of the Declaration of Independence In this article Meor Alif challenges the commonly held viewpoint that all terrorist acts, particularly those that are violent, are inherently morally vacuous with no place in a modern democracy.
By reassessing the morality behind terrorist acts from a consequentialist perspective, a more nuanced role of terrorism in the political sphere emerges. While this piece is not meant to be an absolute criticism of western democratic practices or the renunciation of it, the backbone that will hold this article together is a stern conviction that terrorism, specifically terrorism as a tactic has a place in politics despite the increasingly homogenised consensus that democracy should be incompatible with violence. Hence, this piece will proceed with two broad portions.
The first portion will attempt to define terrorism and illustrate its relationship to the use of violence. The Terrorist Innocence. A North Korean Corleone. The Pros and Cons for a True Value Yuan. I understand the Chinese Yuan's valuation is a very convenient smoke screen and scapegoat, a handy political soundbyte.
But does Washington really want CNY to rise in value against the USD? First of all, a rise in CNY is a de facto devaluation of USD. Devaluing USD has its lure; it's an easy way out of mounting external debt. In fact, my bet is still that it's a path Washington cannot avoid going down. But here I try to temporarily escape political reality and hope for the best. Of course, as we've seen repeatedly over the past decades, and especially the past two years, a world in trouble is a sure support for USD. Japan trick won't play in China Some in Washington may be tempted to pull the same trick on China as they did to Japan in the 70's and 80's. The Prince Party agenda The irony, as I've argued for years now, is that it is in China's best interest to let CNY appreciate gradually. Impressed by this author? Follow and be the first to know when they publish.
Follow Bo Peng New! 15 year old Tells Establishment to Stick it. David Miliband: 'War on terror' was wrong. The terrorist attacks in Mumbai seven weeks ago sent shock waves around the world.
Now all eyes are fixed on the Middle East, where Israel's response to Hamas's rockets, a ferocious military campaign, has already left a thousand Gazans dead. Seven years on from 9/11 it is clear that we need to take a fundamental look at our efforts to prevent extremism and its terrible offspring, terrorist violence. Since 9/11, the notion of a "war on terror" has defined the terrain. The phrase had some merit: it captured the gravity of the threats, the need for solidarity, and the need to respond urgently - where necessary, with force.
But ultimately, the notion is misleading and mistaken. The idea of a "war on terror" gave the impression of a unified, transnational enemy, embodied in the figure of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida. The "war on terror" also implied that the correct response was primarily military. This is what divides supporters and opponents of the military action in Gaza. Mypemimpin's Channel. RealClearPolitics - Opinion, News, Analysis, Videos and Polls. Politics News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. POLITICAL CULTURE AND NATION BUILDING WITHER BANGSA MALAYSIA.pdf (application/pdf Object)