National security wonks — on the liberal side at least — are starting to note that labeling political vandalism and other non-violent crime as “terrorism” waters down the meaning of the term. The Center for Defense Information says that too much use of the T-word is skewing numbers from the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center.
In a paper called “Terrorism Statistics Flawed,” the center focuses on international terrorism, but points out:
“It is useless for any analytical undertaking to examine the motives behind three high-school students vandalizing cars with the letters “ELF” (Earth Liberation Front), just as it is useless to count every act of politically motivated violence as terrorism. The list may be more comprehensive, but it is less meaningful.”
Broadening the definition of “terrorism” creates, on paper at least, more terrorism. It raises the numbers, raises charts and graphs, raises the threat matrixes. It’s cooking the books for political goals. Lawmakers can take those skewed stats and say: “Look at all the dangers we face! We need more money for the War on Terrorism! We need fewer civil liberties!”
The innocent victims of 9/11 and other acts of “real” terrorism deserve more than political games.