Cognitive Dissonance

Submitted by randall (United States), Aug 7, 2010 at 13:31

... Understanding the "reclassification" of terrorist acts by law enforcement requires a larger world view than shown in your thoughts here. First, the FBI and CIA are literally filled with intelligent people. They know that the key to winning the war on terror is to understand and frustrate the causes and motivations of terrorism, and corrupting them. In short: Terror is to terrify--to find honor through murder and fear. To reclassify the motives and methods of a terrorist prevents his/her effect from reaching the intended target (never the victims), and has the secondary effect of disgracing their memory in the eyes of his/her group. For without the effect (public fear), his/her mission has failed. Remember, the target of a suicide bomber is never the victim, it is the larger world, and the effect they hope for is not the murder itself, but the fear it will create in others. "Reclassification" is a technique employed by agencies to deprive terrorists of reaching the world with their message, instilling fear, or gaining the desired glory among their group. It also really pisses them off.

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