Quote Originally Posted by Thorne View Post
I'm sure the soldiers thought they were terrorists, or rebels, or whatever other name they might put on them.
Rebels, yes - they were rebelling against Gaddaffi's regime - and as that conflict went on, quite a few of his troops decided the rebels were actually the lesser evil - but "terrorist" is not just a label: it has an actual meaning. Maybe some of Gaddaffi's troops did believe that label fitted the rebels, just as some of the Taleban mistakenly believed the Northern Alliance were Christian rather than Muslim, but neither makes it true or changes the actual meaning of the word being misused.

The bombing of Dresden was legally questionable, in part because the relevant law had last been updated in 1907 when the nearest equivalent would have been firing rather inaccurate artillery pieces in that direction, though there was certainly no clear-cut prohibition. This was a factor in the subsequent Geneva Conventions. Terrorism, though? No: it was direct destruction of enemy assets, rather than a psychological ploy.

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.
No, not to set anyone free - just to hurt their enemy. Never mind freedom, it's about hurting someone you hate. We all know there were those in the Middle East who literally cheered the massacre, but "set his people free"? Pull the other one.