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"Terrorism is the systematic use of terror especially as a means of coercion.[1] At present, there is no internationally agreed definition of terrorism.[2][3] Common definitions of terrorism refer only to those violent acts which are intended to create fear (terror), are perpetrated for an ideological goal (as opposed to a lone attack), and deliberately target or disregard the safety of non-combatants." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terrorism is not the struggle of people for determination, or revolution, or rebellion. Terrorism is cowardly fear mongering, propaganda, kidnapping and murder to scare a government or a people into submission. The blatant disregard for human life that terrorists adhere to, whether deliberately taking it, or disregarding the safety of the innocent, is unethical and therefore unjust. It all comes down to one key statement: It is unethical to do harm to an innocent human being, no matter what the motivator. In war, the volunteered army of one nation and another nation engage in combat only if certain criteria are met (if the soldiers are not volunteered, it is an unjust war). All other methods of resolution must be exercised before violent ones come to the table, and even during war, ethical standards must hold up in order to comply to the morality of justice. (Geneva Convention: http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org...) Again, I must clarify that terrorism is a different sort of act of violence unlike like a military war where one strategically attacks another's army. Again, this is through standards of morality in voluntary combat engagement (you volunteer to give up your life, and so does the other side in times of just war). ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- One might agree with Businessman Ted Turner when he said, "The reason that the World Trade Center got hit is because there are a lot of people living in abject poverty out there who don't have any hope for a better life." Poverty is not the root cause of terrorism. It is ideas that cause terrorism. A desire to slaughter innocent, productive human beings cannot be explained by a lack of money or a poor quality of life--only by anti-wealth, anti-life philosophies where an idea is put above the right to life of innocent human beings. So long as we wish to uphold the morality of preserving life above all, we must never, under any circumstances, initiate violence against another human being. When one human being can dub their moral cause mighter than another's innocent life, they have disqualified their ability to be a moral, reasoning human being. One can never claim justice by destroying a fundamental human right. Terrorism is a means of coercion. As was put very nicely by the philosopher Ayn Rand: "Be it a highwayman who confronts a traveler with the ultimatum: "Your money or your life," or a politician who confronts a country with the ultimatum: "Your children's education or your life," the meaning of that ultimatum is: "Your mind or your life"—and neither is possible to man without the other." As we can see, terror is a means to coercion is anti-life, anti-rights, and anti-reasoning.