9_eU4oMpoNP wrote:
> Terrorism is the application of terror to achieve a different,
> often political, purpose. Stuxnet is not terrorism. Assuming
> Stuxnet's purpose is to hobble Iran's nuclear program, Stuxnet is
> an application of force to achieve a direct purpose. Similarly,
> the assassination of scientists related to Iran's nuclear program
> isn't an attempt to scare the Iranian population. It is an attempt
> to set back Iran's nuclear aspirations by removing important
> components, the scientists.
> The misuse of the word "terrorism" in our culture dilutes the word
> to meaninglessness.
Interesting argument.
Some would say that a computer virus could never be called a
"terrorist act" by its very nature, although I suppose that if Stuxnet
were attacking American or European nuclear plants, a lot of people
would be calling it terrorism.
As for the murder of the two scientists, it's hard to call that
anything BUT a terrorist act, especially if the attack was perpetrated
by al-Qaeda-linked Jundallah, who wouldn't hesitate to do the same to
American or European scientists.
Perhaps this is a good time to recall the saying, "One man's terrorist
is another man's freedom fighter."
John