Big Think

Jaime Alberto Galarza on April 24, 2008, 7:21 PM

So Mr. Walzer, when you say that terrorism is never justified, do you also refer, I hope, to the state terrorism that the poweful countries exercise against the weak ones? What difference is there for example between a "terrorist" act carried out by a Hezbollah militant in Israel or a S'hiite insurgent in Iraq and the "defensive" measures taken by the IDF or the USAF? You said that terrorism is the intent to kill innocents and civilians. Well, precisely, those actions taken by the powerful have the evident intention to hurt civilians and innocent people. Even worse, when an F16 or an F18 drop its payload over Gaza, or an Iraqi slum, or a village in Afghanistan, are we to believe that the intention is not to kill, disuade, frighten and prevent people from supporting the "terrorists"?

Jaime Alberto Galarza on April 24, 2008, 11:21 PM

So Mr. Walzer, when you say that terrorism is never justified, do you also refer, I hope, to the state terrorism that the poweful countries exercise against the weak ones? What difference is there for example between a “terrorist” act carried out by a Hezbollah militant in Israel or a S’hiite insurgent in Iraq and the “defensive” measures taken by the IDF or the USAF? You said that terrorism is the intent to kill innocents and civilians. Well, precisely, those actions taken by the powerful have the evident intention to hurt civilians and innocent people. Even worse, when an F16 or an F18 drop its payload over Gaza, or an Iraqi slum, or a village in Afghanistan, are we to believe that the intention is not to kill, disuade, frighten and prevent people from supporting the “terrorists”?

Cheryl Walniuk on September 11, 2008, 1:15 PM

As someone who has taught often using Walzer’s Just and Unjust Wars, I think it’s safe to say that Professor Walzer would indeed say that the acts you describe as a counterpoint are unjust — although there are a few cases (such as the war against Nazism) where there’s a difficult gray area. It’s an excellent book and well worth reading for anyone who questions the morality of modern warfare.

Boris Yakubchik on October 28, 2009, 11:03 PM

Waltzer of course doesn’t present an argument here – but just says what he believes. I can’t quite see how an argument claiming terrorism is NEVER justified can be made. Perhaps counter-examples are intuition-pulling and not arguments, still I can imagine situations where terrorism seems morally permissible. For those interested on the topic, I urge you to read Jeff McMahan’s work; he is a philosopher who carefully argues for his positions and has much to say about these issues.