Sometimes,
I wonder who I really am and then sometimes, it does not really matter. I am sure you, the reader(s), have felt that
way a time or two during your lifetime so far.
Assuming (and I know what that means) you have, then you will no doubt
understand the direction of what I am about to write.
NEGOTIATING
WITH TERRORISTS
Though the United States has been engaged in a Global War on Terror for more than a
decade, the U.S. Government surprisingly does not have a standardized
definition of terrorism that is agreed upon by all agencies. The State
Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and a number of other government
agencies all
utilize differing definitions of what constitutes an act of terrorism.
This
lack of agreement has allowed individual agencies to present different and, in
some cases, far more inclusive definitions of terrorist acts enabling the use
of expanded investigative procedures that might not be applicable in other
agencies.
The
FBI utilizes a definition of terrorism based upon the agency’s general
functions under 28 CFR §
0.85. Under this regulation an act of terrorism is defined by “the
unlawful use of force and violence against persons or property to intimidate or
coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in
furtherance of political or social objectives.”
The
USA PATRIOT Act expanded this definition to include domestic acts within the definition
of terrorism. Section
802 of the USA PATRIOT Act modified the legal definition of terrorism (18 USC § 2331) to
include a category of “domestic terrorism” that is defined by “acts dangerous
to human life that are a violation of the criminal laws of the United States or
of any State” intended to “intimidate or coerce a civilian population”,
“influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion” or “affect
the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or kidnapping”
that are conducted primarily within the jurisdiction of the U.S.
At
the time, this expansion of the definition of terrorism was decried
by the ACLU as “broad enough to encompass the activities of several
prominent activist campaigns and organizations.”
|
One of the defining features of terrorist acts has
always been a component of violence. Even under the expanded definition
of terrorism created by the USA PATRIOT Act, there must be an act that is
“dangerous to human life” indicating some form of physical harm to others
could arise from the action. However, the Homeland Security Act of
2002, which created the Department of Homeland Security, extended the
definition of terrorism further by including any act that is “damaging to
critical infrastructure or key resources.” Though this definition
differs from the legal definition of international and domestic terrorism
under 18 USC § 2331,
the modified definition is currently used by DHS as the basis for their own
activities and intelligence products that are disseminated to federal, state
and local law enforcement. The modified definition of terrorism is presented
in a revised Domestic
Terrorism and Homegrown Violent Extremism Lexicon published last year by
DHS:
|
Any
activity that involves an act that is dangerous to human life or potentially
destructive to critical infrastructure or key resources, and is a violation of
the criminal laws of the United States or of any state or other subdivision of
the United States and appears to be intended to intimidate or coerce a civilian
population to influence the policy of a government by intimidation or coercion,
or to affect the conduct of a government by mass destruction, assassination, or
kidnapping.
CONGRESS (Republicans and Democrats alike), ladies
and gentlemen, I would submit to you, are terrorists and should be treated as
such by the American Voting public. Obviously,
they put their pants on differently than you and I and while they appear, on
the surface, to be honoring the voice of not just their constituents but the
public as a whole, they are doing NOTHING but lining their pockets with our tax
dollars.
Just about every person in this country knows what
needs to be done: raise taxes and cut
spending, but these elected bureaucrats disagree on semantics, point-the-finger
(their middle one) at the other party stating their plan does not benefit the
country as a whole.
We will never be free
from this type of terrorism
as
long as
these elected officials
remain in office.
No comments:
Post a Comment