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Fragging or terrorism?

12 comments on Fragging or terrorism?

Fragging or terrorism?
: A U.S. Muslim soldier is being questioned in a grenade attack on an officers’ tent in Kuwait.

A grenade attack on US military base in Kuwait, which injured 16 American soldiers, may have been carried out by a Muslim US soldier who was guarding the camp.

A second man, who is not a soldier, is also being held.

Three grenades were rolled into three tents housing military leaders of the 101st Airborne Division Saturday night at Camp Pennsylvania, home of the, near the Iraqi border, said Sky correspondent Stuart Ramsay, who is in the base.

: At least 13 were wounded, six seriously, says an earlier BBC report.

: MSNBC is talking to a retired general who says it’s not terrorism. How the hell can you be so sure? The soldier being held is said to be a Muslim.

: Oliver Willis fears that talk of terrorism will lead to Muslim interment camps.

It’s way too soon to draw conclusions either way. General and Oliver: It’s quite credible that this could be terrorism if the man is Muslim. If this is a politically/religiously motivated attack, that is terrorism.

Other bloggers: It’s also quite credible that the guy could just be nuts or be a criminal.

This is the disadvantage of instant news: instant opinion.

Facts first, please.

12 responses to “Fragging or terrorism?”

  1. Balbulican Avatar
    Balbulican

    “MSNBC is talking to a retired general who says it’s not terrorism. How the hell can you be so sure? The soldier being held is said to be a Muslim.”
    Say, wasn’t someone just a few threads below deriding the notion that there was anything racist going on here…interesting equation you;re making in this statement.

  2. Jeff Jarvis Avatar
    Jeff Jarvis

    Read my update to this post: My point is that it is too soon to conclude either way. One cannot assume terrorism nor can one eliminate the possibility that this is terrorism. That will come only with investigation. That’s my point: instant opinion of any stripe is likely wrong opinion.

  3. Oliver Avatar
    Oliver

    It probably is terrorism. But that’s no reason for all Muslim Americans to be subject to unAmerican treatment.

  4. Shamus Avatar
    Shamus

    I would suggest that “guerilla” attack would be a better term than “terrorist”. The men were soliders, and thus valid targets (as opposed to civilians). I think that terrorist ought to be reserved for attacks agaist non-combatants, civilians, etc.
    I would hate to see the term “terrorist” broadened until it doesn’t mean anything anymore.

  5. Paul Cella Avatar
    Paul Cella

    Well said, Shamus. “The first moral duty is to think clearly” — Pascal.

  6. Anil Avatar
    Anil

    The description on one of the tv networks was “muslim-sounding” last name. I’m curious to see if a disproportiate percentage of army members (especially black army members) are Islamic, especially NOI. Seems like the odds of *any* soldier being muslim, especially black muslim, are higher than for the country as a whole, which makes it more likely that a name would be muslim.
    Lazyweb, provide me with statistics!

  7. freddie Avatar
    freddie

    If the man is a soldier and he attacks his own, he is not a guerrila but a traitor.
    Why bother to post all this supposition, pointing fingers at muslims, and then state that it all too early to say with any clarity? You either know or do not know. And if not sure, then don’t imply.

  8. Jeff Jarvis Avatar
    Jeff Jarvis

    shamus: when your own soldier attacks your own officers, that’s not war. that’s either a crime or terrorism.

  9. Balbulican Avatar
    Balbulican

    What definition of “terrorism” encompasses the killing of an officer by one of his own soldiers?

  10. Jeff Jarvis Avatar
    Jeff Jarvis

    I find the effort to turn this into a discussion of PC linguistics over the use of the word “terrorist” ludicrous or perhaps even offensive.
    Motive matters.
    If this guy just hated these officers and chose to kill them, he is a murderer.
    If he did this at the behest of the other side, he is a traitor.
    If he did it out of religious or political fervor, he is a terrorist.

  11. Shamus Avatar
    Shamus

    I certainly meant no offense by bringing this up. I am concerned that the word is much abused. (See the efforts of those on the left to twist the word into being synonymous with “freedon fighter”, and the fact that CNN to this day will not refer to the 9/11 terrorists as such.) But I conceed that this is a seperate issue from the one being delt with here.

  12. Skippy Avatar
    Skippy

    By definition, a terrorist attacks civilian targets. Regardless of his motivation, he is not a terrorist. He’s more likely a traitor.
    It’s not an issue of political corectness, but of precise language.