"The systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion." from The New Mirriam-Webster Dictionary.
An example of terrorism:
George W. Bush stated on February 7, 2003 that "Baghdad could launch an unmanned drone from a ship to spray anthrax hundreds of kilometres inland" as reported in the Toronto Globe and Mail by Paul Koring.
Why is this terrorism?:
The statement is absurd. To think that an Iraqi ship carrying a drone aircraft laden with anthrax could even get near the coast of the United States is ridiculous. To think that an unknown aircraft flying towards the US could get anywhere near a city is patently absurd. This statement is pure fantasy designed to manipulate the fears of the American public. It is designed to justify the horrendous breach of international law that will be occuring in the next few weeks - Iraqi terrorists can attack you in your homes with horrendous weapons, therefore we must attack Iraq.
An interesting point:
I did a Lexis/Nexis search of all news over the last week and there was not a single criticism of this statement in the US corporate press. Not a single reporter or editorial commented on the absurdity of the pResident's statement. Were they sleeping or were they too afraid to show the ridiculous nature of his pronouncements? The statement was published in two canadian papers (one mentioned above) and brought to my attention by Tom Dispatch.
