* In Israel, journalists jokingly cavort with wanted terrorist leaders. But try to even interview them in Russia, and the authorities will cut your accreditation:
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it will not renew the accreditation of ABC-TV after it broadcast an interview with a notorious Chechen warlord.
Basayev… has claimed responsibility for some of Russia’s most terrifying terrorist attacks, including last year’s hostage seizure at the school in Beslan, which ended in the deaths of more than 330 children and adults.
* ‘A War by Any Other Name’ (Time Magazine):
The U.S. has a long history of fighting wars on nouns. During WW II, F.D.R. asked citizens for help and was inundated with suggestions — from the “Liberty War” to “Rat Killing.” Finally, he accepted that the conflict was, undeniably, another world war. Someday we may have to do the same.
* ‘One Person’s Terrorist’ (Newsweek):
The distinction between resistance and terror is an important one—and one not often made by U.S. officials in Iraq. The vast majority of these so-called terrorists that the U.S. military brags about killing and capturing are actually insurgents fighting the American occupation and the fledgling Iraqi government. Categorizing them as terrorists has probably played well with a gullible American public—indeed, it probably makes them feel safer—but factually speaking it’s wrong.
* Though Israel was often cited as a influence on the botched British police ‘targeted killing’, the comparison to Israeli tactics is really out of place (MSNBC):
Even some Israeli experts are puzzled by the British bobbies’ aggressive practices. Jonathan Fighel, a terrorism expert and former Israeli Army colonel, says the shoot-in-the-head policy used by Scotland Yard was “not connected with any tactic in Israel.” He said Israeli guidelines for confronting suicide bombers are to first order the suspected bomber to lie on the ground—so if he has explosives, some will go off below him—or ask him to take off his shirt.
