I was writing this as part of another post, but I thought it deserved its own space.
Every act of violence in Iraq is not an act of terrorism. Terrorism targets civilians. When al-Qaeda attacks U.S. troops in Iraq, that is warfare, not terrorism. Iraqis who are not affiliated with al-Qaeda and attack U.S. soldiers view themselves as freedom fighters who want an occupying power to leave. This is warfare, not terrorism. Iraqis who fight other Iraqis for political power are involved in a civil war, not necessarily terrorism. Iraqis or al-Qaeda members who attack Iraqi civilians — for whatever reason — are indeed terrorists.
How much of the conflict falls into the last category, do you think? President Bush merely states that the United States is fighting “the terrorists” in Iraq, but he is either too stupid or too willingly ignorant of the complexity of the situation.
Related: Iraq’s Three Wars
