Why is the bombing of the twin towers terrorism and the bombing of a hospital in Kabul is not?

Jurists in the US and around the world have difficulty designing tools and rules to fight terrorism in the absence of an agreed international definition of what "terror" is and who is a "terrorist". From the days of Robespierre to the days of Stalin and Franco, terrorism was perceived mainly as an activity of the oppressive state apparatus. Today it is perceived in the media as an activity of resistance against

by Nitzan Horowitz

In Washington, they strive to prosecute Osama bin Laden for crimes against humanity

While the forces of the Northern Alliance are rushing towards
Kabul and Kandahar, George Bush signed a rare presidential order in Washington. Only three times in American history - in World War II, the Civil War, and the Mexican War - has such a document come out under the hands of a US President. Bush authorized his Secretary of Defense to establish military tribunals, which will try terrorist suspects anywhere around the world. "A new tool against terrorism ", defined it Al Gonzalez, the legal advisor of the White House. The military trial can also be held outside the borders of the United States, even in the actual combat zone, And the investigation can be conducted entirely in a military framework. The Americans guarantee that every person brought before the military tribunal will receive a fair trial. But in the eyes of human rights organizations, this development is another ominous sign within what they call the "attack on freedoms" following the trauma of September 11.
"Bush should first explain why the system
Our existing legal system does not allow the prosecution of those accused of terrorism," says Laura Murphy from the ACLU. "The lack of such an explanation is further proof that the administration is not prepared to act in the spirit of 'checks and balances' so central to our democracy."

Since then, the twin towers have collapsed, jurists in the US and around the world are in a frantic effort to offer tools and rules for the fight against "terrorism". A few weeks ago, a proposal was discussed here to establish an international tribunal composed of judges of supreme courts from around the world, headed by - together - an American supreme judge and an Islamic jurist. Others suggest adopting Urgently, an international treaty to combat terrorism. Other proposals from the last few days: quickly end the ratification process of The Convention of the International Criminal Court (ICC), to amend the Convention to also define major terrorist attacks as a crime against humanity that would be under the authority of the Court, or to hold an international conference to formulate binding rules for the fight against terrorism.

But all these proposals, without exception, encounter a complicated, sometimes insurmountable obstacle: what is "terrorism" and who is a "terrorist"? The definition, even the dictionary, does not make it easy at all. "Terror" (horror in Latin) is "intimidation, bullying, intimidation by acts of violence", as defined by Ibn Shoshan. Terrorism is "a regime of terror, a method of intimidation and acts of violence in order to intimidate and destroy the opponent", while the terrorist is nothing more than "an intimidator, a bully, a person who strives to achieve his goals by imposing terror by murdering his opponents and by other means of violence". The Oxford dictionary does define "terrorism" as the use of violence and intimidation especially for political purposes, but there is no trace in these definitions of the meaning of terrorism as the action of underground groups or resistance movements that emerge from ambush and strike from hiding according to the accepted connotation in the current discourse. The "Great Terror" was not a collection of terrorist acts, in the sense commonly used in the media today, by groups fighting for national liberation or working against an occupying army, but rather acts by the oppressive state apparatus: in the Stalinist Soviet Union or in Francoist Spain. In an earlier period, the "Great Terror" was the regime of terror that arose following the French Revolution and reached its peak in the days of Robespierre. "The government of the republic owes the enemies of the people only death," Saint-Gist explained at the time.

"Terror" in a meaning approaching the one accepted today has conflicting and infinitely diverse sources: Jacobinism and nihilism, anarchism and Blanquism. Terrorist violence, in the name of ideas and ideologies, has come a long way since it appeared at the end of the 19th century until it became an outright total murder, as Emile Henri, the French terrorist, declared in his speech before the court: "There are no innocents!"

One of the earliest definitions of revolutionary terrorism appears in the program of the "Narodnia Volya" and the sergeants in Russia who talk about "destructive and terrorist activity", as Zev Ibinsky points out in his book "Personal Terror - The Idea and the Action" published in 1977. In the Russian revolutionary platform it is stated that " The goals of the terrorist activity are: to shatter the magic of the power of the government, to provide continuous proof of the possibility of the struggle against the government, To consolidate forces worthy of the struggle, and in this way raise the revolutionary spirit of the people and the belief in the success of the matter." For liberation by terrorism? The answer is: No! Is there any benefit to the revolution and liberation? The answer is: Yes!

^^The main thing is the politics^^

But the key issue remains the same: what is the difference, if there is any at all, between the terrorism of a revolution or Mary movement and the actions of government and the state. "When a bomb explodes in a school and 20 children are killed - it is terrorism, but when a plane bombs the same school and those children are killed - it is treated as a military action," agrees Dr. Eyal Gross, an expert in international law from Tel Aviv University. "It is important to say the The facts: According to the various treaties, there is basically no distinction between the explosion of the Twin Towers and the bombing of a school in Kabul. Why is an attack on Ma'alot terrorism, and an attack on Lebanon is not terrorism? Why is what the Palestinians are doing now terrorism, and Israel's actions in the territories are not terrorism? There is terrorism by organizations and there is state terrorism. From the point of view of the US, it is true that there is a big difference between an action such as the attack on the Twin Towers, which only aims to sow killing and destruction among civilians, and the goal of preventing such attacks, which is the stated American goal in Afghanistan. But even when working for such a legitimate goal, the duty to distinguish between civilians and combatants applies When large-scale harm to civilians becomes a central part of the military operations of countries, it follows that these countries themselves resort to terrorism".

The fundamental problem in this discussion is that there is no definition of terrorism in international law. "The only convention on terrorism was signed in 1937 by the majority of European countries at the time, but never entered into force," explains Prof. Natan Lerner, an expert in international law from the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya. "Since then, special conventions have been adopted on terrorism in the air, at sea, at airports, but there is no comprehensive convention because it is extremely difficult to define what terrorism is and who is a terrorist." To get closer to such a definition, Prof. Lerner suggests distinguishing between the procedural aspect and the essential aspect. From a procedural point of view, terrorism is an indiscriminate attack on a certain population; The essential aspect focuses on the political goal, and this may be kosher or illegitimate - depending on the eye of the beholder. "When the Basque underground ETA carries out acts of terrorism, most of international society rejects it, but when the Palestinians carry out similar acts, many in the Arab world and outside it say that it is not terrorism but acts against the occupation."

In recent years, attempts have been made to refine the diagnosis. For example, the 1997 International Convention on Terrorist Attacks states that "any person commits an offense under the Convention if he transfers, places, or uses an explosive or other deadly device against a place of public use, a government facility, public transportation, or an infrastructure facility with the intent to cause death or serious physical damage or intentionally causing widespread destruction of such a place when the destruction leads or may lead to great economic damage." Regarding such acts, the convention states that each state will take steps to make it a crime under its criminal law, and that it cannot be justified for "political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or similar" reasons. As for jurisdiction, this treaty states that each state must take measures to apply its jurisdiction over these offenses if they were committed on its territory or on a ship/aircraft flying its flag or by its citizen.

The treaty allows states to judge those responsible for such acts even in cases committed against its citizens or against its facility abroad. In any case, the rule applicable here is "detain or prosecute".

But still, even in this updated definition there is no distinction between the explosion of the Twin Towers and the bombing of a hospital in Kabul. It is not surprising that the key to such a distinction is not found in the field of law at all. "The focus is the political weight," says Lerner. "This issue, perhaps more than any other issue, depends on political considerations. He who has the political power or influence is the one who can dictate the definition and the reference."

^^What is justified self-defense^^

The issue of self-defense is legally at the heart of the American campaign against global terrorism. International law establishes two tests for this: necessity and relativity. The Americans claim that they fulfill both. Before it began bombing, the USA informed the Security Council in an official letter that it was exercising its right to self-defense according to Article 51 of the UN Charter. In fact, the international community accepted the American claim that the events of September 11 were considered an "armed attack" on the United States, and the Security Council took action according to the seventh chapter of the scroll entitled "Action against threats to the peace, breaches of the peace and acts of aggression". The Americans also claim Because their attacks are focused and balanced and therefore meet the requirement of relativity.

Accepting the American claims puts international law into unrecognized territory. Traditionally, this industry deals with conflicts between countries. Later he also gave his opinion on civil wars, and later applied the laws of war in part also in relation to populations under occupation or in colonial situations. Now it is an exciting innovation: the definition of terrorist acts as an "armed attack" on a country that justifies the exercise of the right of self-defense. The NATO alliance - the largest military organization in the world - already recognizes this.

After September 11, the alliance made a decision according to Article 5 of its founding charter, which states that an attack on one member will be considered an attack on all of them. It was then emphasized that the 1949 Washington Treaty, which established NATO, was drawn up under completely different circumstances and of course did not foresee the reality of global terrorism. It is so unusual that it is difficult to even give it a name other than 'September 11,'" says Gross. "The new direction of international law since the attacks in New York and Washington, of providing justifications to use force on the part of the US, in fact contradicts the entire trend in this industry, which in the last hundred years has actually aimed to reduce the use of force."

If the United States succeeds in getting hold of Osama bin Laden, they are striving in Washington to prosecute him for committing crimes against humanity. American jurists believe that this is absolutely possible. from a broad or systematic attack against a civilian population," explains Gross. "Such a definition may apply to bin Laden, but one should put Note that it does not distinguish between a person, a group, or a country.
^^ Some people will argue that in the same way you can see what the USA is doing in Afghanistan". ^^

Perhaps because of this, the World Criminal Court has not yet been established, which could conduct the trials of the members of "Al-Qaeda" with solid international legitimacy. "After all, the whole desire to establish a special court for terrorism stems from the fact that there is no international criminal court," says Lerner. The main obstacle to the establishment of the Permanent Court is the opposition of the United States, which fears that American soldiers will be brought to trial before it. American politicians say this explicitly: they do not want to be portrayed as "judges of the world" and would like an international institution to help them in the fight against terrorism, but are not ready for such an institution Will any American ever judge. Nor are they willing to entrust the critical task of defining "terrorism" to someone else It's really very, very difficult," Prof. Lerner concludes, "but despite everything, I still believe that it is possible to define terrorism because I believe strongly in the power of words."

^^And why not fight terrorism in Kashmir, for example?^^

George W. Bush's stated commitment to fight terrorism everywhere, regardless of the identity of its perpetrators or their goals, whets the appetite of governments from Moscow to Manila. Two months after the collapse of the towers in New York, voices are growing in the US warning against the expansion of the war and entanglement in the fight against "terrorism" that is not directed at the US. Richard Cohen brings in the "Washington Post" the echoes from one of the last briefings in the press room of the White House. An Indian reporter was determined to present a nagging question to the president: "Sir, why are there two laws in this world - one for America and one for everyone else? When terrorism strikes America, you go to the other side of the world and wage war in Afghanistan. But when we suffer terrorism in Kashmir, you ask us to show restraint . Is an Indian's life worth less than an American's?"

Bush replied emphatically: terrorism is wrong everywhere. "I believe that there is one universal law - that terrorism is evil and we must all work to eliminate evil," he said.

"Not so fast, Mr. President," warns Cohen. "Declaring war on terrorism everywhere becomes a mandatory matter. Bin Laden is the one who apparently murdered Americans, not the terrorists in Kashmir. He is our enemy and we must pursue him. Everything else - it is much more problematic. First of all, most of the Islamic world, especially the Arab world, rejects The use of the definition of terrorism for actions against Israel. After all, we cannot wage war against most of the Middle East. Shall we also intervene in Indonesia, in Northern Ireland, in Syria There is no chance. There is one exception: Iraq is a real threat. Our policy should be to eliminate terrorism This policy and going to war. We are now at war with an identifiable enemy, it is challenging enough."

https://www.hayadan.org.il/BuildaGate4/general2/data_card.php?Cat=~~~315661868~~~34&SiteName=hayadan

One response

  1. Justice for the author of the article.
    This hypocrisy is intolerable and over time only leads to more and more hatred for those who call themselves the leaders of the free world. China will eventually take that status, just because we know what happened when America ruled and China can still save the world. And no, I don't think that any country can save the world, we need enormous cooperation and without religious symbols, with an emphasis on preserving human life and human rights wherever they are.
    Otherwise, we are lost. In fact, we are already almost lost and need to turn things around before they make us irrelevant.

Leave a Reply

Email will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to filter spam comments. More details about how the information from your response will be processed.