Mistral said:
[Please note that this is not the same as saying all Arabs or Moslems are potential terrorists.]
I'd say all human beings are potential terrorists
If one reflects that (1) the terrorists consider themselves at war with the West generally, and the US specifically; (2) the entire idea of non-combatants in war is both very recent historically, and Western in origin;
I don't agree--I would say that certainly ancient and medieval, and some early modern warfare was quite limited in geographic scope and the number of people involved; the vast majority of casualties were due to disease and wound infection rather than direct interpersonal violence-- basically, you'd have a small bunch of guys on horses trying to knock each other down and a larger bunch of guys hitting each other with clubs. The longbow and crossbow improved the ability of soldiers to kill other soldiers but didn't lead to civilian deaths.
-(Y)