# Barack Obama is a terrorist.
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378
**Category:** Politics & Elections
**Created:** [October 1, 2012, 11:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378 "2012-10-01T11:38:26Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 4
### Author:  [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/61 "2012-10-01T17:14:20Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> I responded to the content: the fact that people are frightened doesn’t make it terrorism. I was going to say that’s a bad analysis, but in fact it’s more of a word game than an analysis. Sorry. Military strikes against a terrorist group are not terrorism even if people are frightened of them (as if full-scale war or attacks by a terrorist group aren’t frightening).
Let’s just say you have a conveniently myopic definition of terrorism that assigns an emotionally charged term to offensive actions of small groups while sugar coating equally offensive actions of large, powerful groups.
---
### Author:  [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/62 "2012-10-01T17:18:27Z")
And you’re not using the word terrorism because it is an emotionally charged term. No, not at all. Even though there is no universally accepted definition of “terrorism,” you’re using the word the way God and justice intends it to be used, right?
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/63 "2012-10-01T17:24:31Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#):
>
> Let’s just say you have a conveniently myopic definition of terrorism that assigns an emotionally charged term to offensive actions of small groups while sugar coating equally offensive actions of large, powerful groups.
I haven’t commented on the size of the groups involved, so I don’t think you have any basis for this conclusion either.
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### Author:  [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/64 "2012-10-01T17:28:09Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> I haven’t commented on the size of the groups involved, so I don’t think you have any basis for this conclusion either.
It’s inherent in your responses. The outcome is equally offensive. Would you have an issue if the thread title was _Barack Obama is as offensive as a terrorist_?
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/65 "2012-10-01T17:35:47Z")
Good for Obama. Fire a missile for me, Barack.
I agree that claiming every person his was a terrorist is extremely disingenuous, but I understand why he has to do it politically. This thread is evidence for that. This thread has also stirred me to donate a small amount of money to Obama’s campaign.
---
### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/66 "2012-10-01T17:40:46Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#):
>
> It’s inherent in your responses.
Ok, now I understand: it’s not based on anything I actually wrote, much like the accusation that Obama is a terrorist or the drone program is a “terrorist tactic” are based on lots of things but not on the actual definition of terrorism.
> [@](#):
>
> Would you have an issue if the thread title was _Barack Obama is equally or more offensive than a terrorist_?
The ideas about Obama and the drone strikes would be the same regardless of what the thread is called, so there’s not much point in quibbling with the thread title. We’re discussing the ideas here (and I’m also being required to debate some absurd characterizations of my posts). For the record though, yes, that is also an absurd proposition unless perhaps you are an Afghan villager who has lost a family member because of a military screwup.
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### Author:  [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/67 "2012-10-01T17:50:55Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#):
>
> Good for Obama. Fire a missile for me, Barack.
>
> I agree that claiming every person his was a terrorist is extremely disingenuous, but I understand why he has to do it politically. This thread is evidence for that. This thread has also stirred me to donate a small amount of money to Obama’s campaign.
Do you think Obama’s policies that favor the monied elite and other key constituencies are more important than avoiding the killing of innocent children abroad?
Do you admit the administration is lying to cover up the civilian deaths? If so, do you always regard lies made to you by your preferred officials as politically necessary? Do you think we would all be better off if our wise officials kept sad things like this from us?
---
### Author:  [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/68 "2012-10-01T17:53:58Z")
> [@Marley23](#):
>
> Ok, now I understand: it’s not based on anything I actually wrote, much like the accusation that Obama is a terrorist or the drone program is a “terrorist tactic” are based on lots of things but not on the actual definition of terrorism.
>
> The ideas about Obama and the drone strikes would be the same regardless of what the thread is called, so there’s not much point in quibbling with the thread title. We’re discussing the ideas here (and I’m also being required to debate some absurd characterizations of my posts). For the record though, yes, that is also an absurd proposition unless perhaps you are an Afghan villager who has lost a family member because of a military screwup.
Oh so you think these are military screw-ups? I don’t think we have anything more to say to each other.
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### Author:  [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/69 "2012-10-01T17:54:33Z")
I rememeber when this practice was condemned when Israel was doing it…
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### Author:  [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/70 "2012-10-01T17:58:01Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#):
>
> Do you think Obama’s policies that favor the monied elite and other key constituencies are more important than avoiding the killing of innocent children abroad?
>
> Do you admit the administration is lying to cover up the civilian deaths? If so, do you always regard lies made to you by your preferred officials as politically necessary? Do you think we would all be better off if our wise officials kept sad things like this from us?
I’m going to the bathroom now. No offense, but when I get back I’m sitting at the other end of the bar.
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### Author:  [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/71 "2012-10-01T17:58:33Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#):
>
> Do you think Obama’s policies that favor the monied elite
Sorry, what?
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### Author:  [@Grumman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumman)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/72 "2012-10-01T18:00:39Z")
> [@Larry\_Borgia](#):
>
> I agree that claiming every person his was a terrorist is extremely disingenuous, but I understand why he has to do it politically. This thread is evidence for that.
Or maybe it’s because it’s a running theme of the Obama administration that he cares less about not doing evil than he does about getting caught? Or have you not noticed that out of everyone at the CIA who used or knew about the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques”, the only person the Obama administration is willing to prosecute is the whistleblower?
---
### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/73 "2012-10-01T18:00:41Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#):
>
> Oh so you think these are military screw-ups?
When innocent people are killed, yes.
> [@](#):
>
> I don’t think we have anything more to say to each other.
I don’t think we’ve said anything to each other yet. I’ve mostly been arguing against your bizarre reinterpretations of my posts, and I am happy to have done with that.
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### Author:  [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/74 "2012-10-01T18:00:41Z")
> [@Bosstone](#):
>
> Sorry, what?
I’m voting for Romney, whose policies don’t favor the monied elite.
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### Author:  [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/75 "2012-10-01T18:04:48Z")
> [@Grumman](#):
>
> Just a reminder for anyone planning to vote for him in a month.
>
> Under Barack Obama, your country is waging a war of terror. It indiscriminately kills civilians with drone strikes, then classifies any male adult victim as a “militant”. It uses secondary strikes to murder good samaritans who try to help the wounded, the same tactic [the FBI once warned terrorists might use](http://www.policeone.com/terrorism/articles/86852-FBI-Again-Warns-of-Secondary-Explosive-Devices-Cautions-Officers-To-Watch-Surroundings/), and a war crime in itself under the First Geneva Convention. It targets funerals and prevents the innocent people of Pakistan from going about their daily lives, because they fear that any gathering will be seen as a valid target for another drone strike.
>
> Even if this does not concern you, remember that every innocent death is a victory for our enemies, a way to recruit men like Faisal Shahzad, the man behind the Times Square car bomb in 2010.
>
> More information about the US’s use of drones in Pakistan can be found in Stanford’s report [here](http://livingunderdrones.org/).
>
> If you do not want to be complicit in these acts, I ask that you vote for Jill Stein instead of Barack Obama, or vote for Gary Johnson instead of Mitt Romney, and ask others to do the same.
Cite that the US is intentionally targeting civilians, aid workers, or weddings and funerals? Because I don’t think that statement you made is factually correct.
As the system is currently set up, a 3rd party candidate has to have a HUGE amount of appeal, across broad spectrums. Neither of the candidates you have mentioned have that, and thus voting for them isn’t a “statement” or anything of the sort. It is literally a waste, as most sources don’t even report on 3rd party candidates.
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### Author:  [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/76 "2012-10-01T18:48:38Z")
> [@Grumman](#):
>
> If you do not want to be complicit in these acts, I ask that you vote for Jill Stein instead of Barack Obama, or vote for Gary Johnson instead of Mitt Romney, and ask others to do the same.
I find your moral purity ethically repugnant.
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### Author:  [@WillFarnaby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WillFarnaby)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/77 "2012-10-01T19:46:14Z")
If you think crony capitalism and bailouts don’t favor the monied elite you’re an Obama voter as well as an idiot.
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### Author:  [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/78 "2012-10-01T20:06:21Z")
> [@WillFarnaby](#):
>
> If you think crony capitalism and bailouts don’t favor the monied elite you’re an Obama voter as well as an idiot.
You’re not allowed to insult other people in this forum, **WillFarnaby** (and before you ask, the insult is “idiot,” not “Obama voter”). Don’t do it again.
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### Author:  [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/79 "2012-10-01T21:22:29Z")
Is there any real reason to believe that if Stein or Johnson was actually elected President, they wouldn’t be doing the same things that Obama or Romney would do?
And the OP has another misconception common to third party supporters - the belief that somehow the “system” is wrongly forcing people to vote for Democrats and Republicans. And that some fix would allow people to vote for the parties they really like - the Greens or Libertarians or Socialists or Natural Laws or whatever.
The reality is much simpler. The system isn’t rigged against third parties. They do poorly in elections because most people don’t agree with their platforms. People don’t choose Democrats and Republicans over Greens and Libertarians because of some coercive force. People vote for the parties they like and a lot more people like the Democrats and Republicans than like the Greens and Libertarians.
---
### Author:  [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)
#### Post date: [October 1, 2012, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/barack-obama-is-a-terrorist/636378/80 "2012-10-01T21:29:29Z")
> [@Grumman](#):
>
> Just a reminder for anyone planning to vote for him in a month.
>
> Under Barack Obama, your country is waging a war of terror. It indiscriminately kills civilians with drone strikes, then classifies any male adult victim as a “militant”. It uses secondary strikes to murder good samaritans who try to help the wounded, the same tactic [the FBI once warned terrorists might use](http://www.policeone.com/terrorism/articles/86852-FBI-Again-Warns-of-Secondary-Explosive-Devices-Cautions-Officers-To-Watch-Surroundings/), and a war crime in itself under the First Geneva Convention. It targets funerals and prevents the innocent people of Pakistan from going about their daily lives, because they fear that any gathering will be seen as a valid target for another drone strike.
>
> Even if this does not concern you, remember that every innocent death is a victory for our enemies, a way to recruit men like Faisal Shahzad, the man behind the Times Square car bomb in 2010.
>
> More information about the US’s use of drones in Pakistan can be found in Stanford’s report [here](http://livingunderdrones.org/).
>
> If you do not want to be complicit in these acts, I ask that you vote for Jill Stein instead of Barack Obama, or vote for Gary Johnson instead of Mitt Romney, and ask others to do the same.
Art of the possible, **Grumman.** A vote for anyone but a Republicrat is the same as staying home on eday, and Obama is at any rate almost certainly far better than Romney would be in this regard. You know all this.
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