Quote Originally Posted by js207 View Post
Terrorism is committing the war crime of targeting civilians to get your way - whether that goal is "freedom" or anything else.
Like firebombing entire cities to "reduce the enemy's resistance"? It's a matter of perspective. If you're in one of the planes dropping the bombs, it's a cruel but necessary strategy. If you're in the city it's a terrorist act.

The guys in Libya fighting against Gaddaffi's regime? Not terrorists: they were fighting Gaddaffi's military.
I'm sure the soldiers thought they were terrorists, or rebels, or whatever other name they might put on them.

If they'd hidden and fired missiles into or planted bombs in the middle of Tripoli then they'd have been terrorists - as well as rather less popular, of course, and less likely to be seen as fighting against oppression.
Naturally, the people who were being bombed wouldn't particularly like them. But if they were doing those things in, say, Chad or Tunisia, the Libyan people would consider them Freedom Fighters.

As for 'freedom to determine his own fate', Atta had that from the outset: born in Egypt, studied in Germany then trained in Afghanistan. He could have killed himself any time he wanted, but he wanted to deprive thousands of other people of that right - the very antithesis of a "freedom fighter".
It makes me think of the Egyptian Pharaohs, and other royalty, who killed dozens, if not hundreds, of their loyal subjects to have servants in the afterlife. It's a case of being afraid to face death alone, so they have to bring as many people along with them as possible. I suppose they figure that they can get lost in the crowd and their god won't realize they've slipped into heaven, or wherever.

But regardless of Atta's motives or methods, I can pretty much guarantee that there are those who felt he was justified, and died to set his people free from the Great Satan.