31 May 2009

American Terrorism?

It's important to reserve judgment until we know more about the suspect reportedly in custody, but it's not unreasonable to presume that the killing in a church lobby of a Kansas doctor who performed abortions was a politically-related crime, done with the intent to prevent him from performing further abortions and possibly to deter others from continuing to perform them. If so, that is terrorism. It's not a matter of body count or method, or even about religion. It's all about motive, and unless it emerges that the suspect had a purely personal grudge, it is fit and proper to call him a terrorist. That might make things less clear to some people on other fronts, but maybe it'll clarify matters for others.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

A politically motivated attack perpetrated on grounds of religious belief...let's not forget the role played by religion in these sorts of attacks.

Samuel Wilson said...

That's a reasonable assumption but remains to be proven in this case. It is possible for someone to be secular or even atheist yet abhor abortion on the assumption that the fetus is a rights-bearing human being. But I think such people are a small minority in the anti-abortion crowd.

Anonymous said...

And I'm guessing those aren't the type likely to kill another human being. Whereas the human race has a long record of murder and mayhem in the name of religious intolerance.