West Bank Teen Halts Homicide Bombing Role

[wubbathompson]

RAMALLAH, West Bank — A Palestinian teenager who decided against blowing himself up in Jerusalem caused panic in a West Bank (search) security office when he went for help, officials said Monday.

Palestinian security officials said the young man appeared at their Ramallah (search) office late last week and stripped off his jacket — revealing an explosives vest with a detonation switch at his neck.

The young man, whose name was not released, told the officers he was recruited by the Islamic Jihad (search) group in Jenin and was supposed to blow himself up in Jerusalem.

On the way, though, he had second thoughts. "I kept thinking of myself, of my family, and to be honest — I don't want to die," one of the officers quoted the man as saying.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,119499,00.html

Got sent this at work just a minute ago. Good for this young man for not taking part in the violence.

[Cocoa]

1. Fox should be embarrassed

"homicide bombings" is one of the more laughable Bush propaganda phrases, and they've adopted it.

[Archae]

2. The frikkin' ARE homicide bombings.

These kamikaze bombers get on school buses, go into restaurants, they target civilians, hardly ever soldiers.
They are simply murderers.

And no, I'm not letting Israel off the hook either for using Hellfire missiles to take out one or two radical Palestinian leaders.

[jobycom]

7. Suicide bomber describes the method, not the intention, of the bomber

No duh they are committing homicide, that's not in question. What's in question is the intelligence of Bush and Fox News in not understanding the difference. How do they describe McVeigh? Was he not a homicide bomber, even though he lived? So when you report, do you say "Homicide bomber who didn't die in the attack Timothy McVeigh," or "The homicide bomber blew himself up deliberately in the attack on..."? Why, when you can say "A suicide bomber struck..." THAT's the purpose of the phrase, to better describe the attack, not to condemn or condone the attack.

[killbotfactory]

8. It's redundant. "Bomber" already implies homicidal intent.

Did we ever describe the Unabomber as a homicide bomber? or McVeigh? Nope. Why? Because doing so is fucking retarded. Like calling someone a "homicide sniper". Stupid stupid stupid.

"Suicide bomber" implies someone who blows themselves up along with other people. Always has, always will.

[mulethree]

16. why remove the aspect of suicide?

The bombers are either :

1 Suicidally depressed/oppressed

and/or

2 Zealots

Probably the existence of the first case providing the foundation for the second.

Zealot :a member of a radical, warlike, ardently patriotic group of Jews in Judea, particularly prominent from a.d.69 to 81, advocating the violent overthrow of Roman rule and vigorously resisting the efforts of the Romans and their supporters to heathenize the Jews.

Both seem worthy reasons to keep the word suicide in there as a reminder.

[wubbathompson]

17. I think the point

Is that the reason they should be called "homicide bombers" is because their true intent is to kill as many people as possible by commiting suicide. The traditional notion of suicide is a singular act which rarely ends up taking other lives, whereas these bomber set out with the primary goal of "homicide" with the means being suicide. I think the title "Homicide Bomber" does truly capture their intent

[Just Me]

18. "Desperate defenders",...comes to my mind.

When I read of the young woman (29 years old) who earned a law degree attaching a bomb to her body,...everything changed about my perspective of this situation.

Desperate people do desperate things. These people are left hanging without any powerful means of maintaining their identity other than a desperate measure of sacrificing themselves. It makes me cry that any peoples would be so desperate,...in a world of plenty. It forces me to acknowledge that there are conditions which create such desperation.

These "desperate defenders", to me, are proof that all leaderships are nothing but failures,...especially the "bullying" ones: they are complete and total fucking failures!!!!

[wubbathompson]

19. You're no better than Fox news

"Desperate Defenders"? Is that a fucking joke? I'll accept suicide bombers because I support the Palestinian cause, but "desperate defenders"? That is tenuous at best. If all of the Palestinians felt the way Hamas and the murdering minority do, then we would see full scale war, fought to the bitter end by a people who would rather die than live as they do, but we don't do we?

[eyesroll]

3. Actually, in this case, I think it's a Foxism that was adopted by the

administration. I could be wrong. Either way -- isn't any bombing that kills people, by definition, a "homicide bombing?" Sure, a suicide bombing that kills someone other than the bomber is also a homicide bombing. But by implication, Oklahoma City wasn't actually a homicide. It's awkward construction at best, and a cheap shot to boot.

[jobycom]

6. No, Bush's administration started it, suggested it, and FOX did it.

More journalistic integrity, or rather, advertising for the Republicans.

And yes, you are right, it is a stupid construct. "Suicide bomber" is a type of bomber, so the phrase doesn't express his intention, just his method. If I park a car bomb outside a restaurant to kill people, I'm a car bomber, though my intention was homicide. If I kill myself with a bomb without trying to hurt anyone else, I'm not a suicide bomber, I'm just a suicide. Bush is too stupid to know the difference, and FOX is just trying to pretend he's wearing clothes.

More degredation of the language for political purposes. In this case Republicans are trying their hardest to "dumb down" America, knowing that a dumber population that uses language less specifically is more likely to vote Republican.

[maddezmom]

10. Ari started it...I remember the WH briefing...here's a llink

April 26, 2002
"Homicide Bombers" revisited...

The power to define, and make it stick, is arguably the premier political power. To control the definitions of terms is to control the debate by bracketing how the audience may think about an issue. To create new terms is to create new realities. We saw an excellent example of this on 12 April 2002 when White House press secretary Ari Fleischer introduced new a term for the Palestinian men and women who are blowing themselves up in public places: homicide bombers.


The press took immediate notice of the new term, which is exactly what Fleischer and the Bush administration wanted. This is a calculated move. Press secretaries are not at liberty to make up new terms on the fly. That could cause major headaches and damaging political fallout.


As reported by Reuters:

"The president condemns this morning's homicide bombing," Fleischer told reporters. He called on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat to "speak out and denounce today's homicide attack. Asked why he had stopped referring to "suicide bombers," as he has in the past, Fleischer said the new term was more accurate. "These are not suicide bombings. These are not people who just kill themselves. These are people who deliberately go to murder others, with no regard to the values of their own life," he said. "It's not suicide, it's murder."


Seems like common sense. Obviously these bombers go to public places to explode their bombs for the purpose of killing people. Isn't this simply putting a finer point on a situation that is plainly understood as terrorism? Isn't this simply being more "accurate."

~snip~

http://rhetorica.net/archives/000447.html

[jobycom]

20. Thanks, I thought it was Ari. Probably Rove's or Hughes's idea, though

Ari wasn't the sharpest blade in thw block, and they never listened to him much, anyway.

[nodehopper]

11. are they not bombings? do they not result in homicide?

[Cocoa]

14. good point

:eyes:

[jobycom]

21. Yes, yes, but so do other bombings.

That's the point. Suicide bombing tells you what kind of bombing it was. Homicide bombing tells you that some reporter is rewriting his stories to fit them to an illiterate president's misunderstanding of a phrase. It could refer rightfully to suicide bombings, car bombings, or in my opinion, the bombs Bush has dropped on Bagdad.

It's switching less specific language for more specific language for political reasons.

And yes, if Clinton or Gore had said it I'd still say it was stupid, though of course they aren't stupid so they wouldn't say it.

[Zhade]

4. If true, good for the kid - but Fox "News" is not remotely credible.

In fact, it is a news source not really allowed here, as it is a mouthpiece for the fascist traitors in the White House.

[wubbathompson]

5. But it did come from the AP

Even though, I'm sure fox picked it up for a reason. This guy at work pummels me with articles and I forward him ones from DU, so when he sends me something worthwhile, I'll give it some play. I just thought it was good for Fox to show that not all palestinians wanted death etc etc. I was actually proud of them for showing the good side of palestinians.

[aquart]

9. EVERYONE has a good side.

Freepers, Palestinians, Israelis, Republicans, humans.

We like to forget that when we're pummeling them.

What happens to this kid when he tries to go home is what I want to know.

Will his community make his life hell because he wanted to grow up and die of old age?

What happens next?

[nodehopper]

12. well, I imagine his family will be happy to see him alive

[snippy]

13. "Homicide bomber" is Bush Newspeak. Doubleplusgood citizen.

And remember, we have always been at war with Iraq.

FIRE THE LIAR

[mulethree]

15. Hmm if you're dead before your victims, are you a martyr?

Wouldn't you get condemed for the suicide part of the operation before the martyrdom part of the equation kicked in?

[jobycom]

22. LOL Great theological question! nt.