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To: Conscience of a Conservative
This guy is may be a terrorist, but he’s certainly not “pro life.”

Terrorists generally don't distinguish between people - the word you are looking for is "assassin," I believe. Terrorists just want as many people to die as possible. They're more concerned with body count, take September 11, for example. As such, this guy that shot Tiller does not - IMO - fit the definition of a terrorist.

1,122 posted on 05/31/2009 3:47:57 PM PDT by library user
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To: library user
I see your point, though I'm not necessarily sure I agree. I agree that because this was a targeted act, "assassin" may be a more precise/specific term to use, but I'm not sure that precludes the term "terrorist," because I think that assassins can be terrorists. I don't think the definition of terrorist depends on how many people are attacked, but rather on the intent of the attacker (i.e., on whether the attack was intended to intimidate political/religious/etc opponents).

In this case, I would argue that if this guy killed Tiller because he hated Tiller, hated what Tiller did, and wanted vengeance for the evil that he believed Tiller wrought, he would be most accurately described as an assassin, not a terrorist. If, on the other hand, he attacked Tiller for all of those reasons, but also because he wanted to send a message to other abortionists/abortion-supporters (stop doing what you're doing, or else), he could fairly be described as both an assassin and a terrorist.

1,171 posted on 05/31/2009 4:24:33 PM PDT by Conscience of a Conservative
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