Calling Bill Ayers a "Terrorist" Doesn't Make Him So

As John McCain's campaign begins to disintegrate within less than thirty days to election day because of his unequivocal support for George Bush's reckless economic policies that have gotten our economy into this ditch, he is beginning to use a series of sleazy advertisements to distract people from the fact that every morning, their 401Ks are smaller than it was the day before.

As part of this distraction campaign of character assassination against Barack Obama, McCain's attack dog -- Sarah Palin -- has been out there saying Obama is friends with Ayers, "a domestic terrorist." In response, Obama has accurately pointed out that Ayers committed his actions over forty years ago, when Obama was eight years old. Obama's interactions with the rehabilitated and now University professor William Ayers has been very limited and only about matters of uncontroversial public good.

But what the Obama campaign has intelligently avoided doing (because they may look as if they are defending Ayers) is to challenge the notion that William Ayers is a terrorist. We are told that Ayers was a "domestic terrorist" because according to the New York Times, he was a member of "the radical Weathermen" who launched "a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and United States Capitol" to protest the Vietnam War. Furthermore, we are told that Ayers was a terrorist because the FBI said so 40 years ago.

But the fact is that throughout its entire time of activities, Weathermen did not hurt a single citizen. The FBI may call Weathermen a terrorist group, but the FBI's definition of terrorism is rather broad, defining terrorism as "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives." Based on this definition, America's actions in both Iraq and Afghanistan as well as those in Nicaragua in the 1980s are terrorism. So is Israel's bombing of that mysterious military site in Syria in 2007. But how many Americans consider America or Israel "terrorists"?

In 2001, the FBI also branded not domestic terrorist cells or Al Qaeda -- which planned and executed the attacks of 9/11, which led to the killing of 2,975 Americans -- but the Earth Liberation Front, as the top domestic terror threat in the United States. According to the now defunct ELF Press Office, ELF is the collective name for anonymous and autonomous individuals who use "economic sabotage and guerrilla warfare to stop the exploitation and destruction of the environment." Since its creation, ELF's actions have not led to the hurting of a single individual anywhere in the world.

In his book about his Weatherman experiences, Bill Ayers objected to describing the WUO (Weather Underground Organization) as "terrorist." Ayers wrote, "Terrorists terrorize, they kill innocent civilians, while we organized and agitated. Terrorists destroy randomly, while our actions bore, we hoped, the precise stamp of a cut diamond. Terrorists intimidate, while we aimed only to educate. No, we're not terrorists." It is true that even if Bill Ayers was in fact "aiming" to educate, what renders groups certain classifications is the consequences of their actions, not their aims. Nonetheless, Weathermen also specifically aimed to engage in activities that did not result in the hurting of any individuals. For instance, they specifically targeted government buildings at night to avoid killing citizens. In addition, the consequences of Weathermen's actions led to the destruction of a lot of property and no human life, ever.

It was extremely poor judgment on Weathermen's part to resort to violence and odd and erroneous on Ayers' part to elevate violence and destruction of properties built with the tax money from many people who also opposed to Vietnam War to the level of education. It's an utter insult to all true educators, of whom he is currently one. Nonetheless, Weathermen were extreme vandals, not terrorists. Is vandalism of government property bad? Absolutely. Is it as bad as actions that most Americans consider to be terrorism: intentionally targeting and killing civilians to push any kind of a social agenda? Absolutely not.

Comments

[Fazeli]

Excellent article! Who else was called a terrorist by the FBI just 20 years ago? Let me think---ummm---ah! Nelson Mandela (one of the greatest advocates of non-violent struggle in modern history!!). I don't defend Ayers and his actions at all. I think they were wrong. But to call him a terrorist is like calling Chavez, Al Qaeda!

[Bagger]

The dude is a college professor at a prestigious university for crying out loud. I guess all of his students characters should be questioned for attending his class. This is so stupid.

[another t palin]

Not a bad article in general, but I believe Mr Sedaei's assertion that the Weather Underground "never killed anyone" to be incorrect.

http://www.cosmoetica.com/B284-DES224.htm

Several members were killed during a bomb making accident along with some other "accidental" deaths (bombing of buildings thought to be empty, but weren't) as well as the murders noted in the above link.

Having said that, I agree with the conclusion - Bill Ayers is not a terrorist. Especially the 1990's version of Ayers that was selected by Ms. Annenberg to sit on the board of her foundation and that Obama knew.

[hgovernick]

Using the McCain/Palin logic for identifying dangerous and evil people because they associate with Bill Ayers, McCain may as well add the following people to his list, all part of the Chicago Annenberg Challenge :

Patricia Albjerg Graham -She was also appointed by the President of the United States as the director of the National Institute of Education.

Stanley O. Ikenberry - former president of the University of Illinois and served as the tenth president of the American Council on Education.

Arnold R. Weber - President Emeritus of Northwestern University since July 1998.

Ray Romero, vice president and general counsel of Ameritech.

Edward Bottum, managing director of Chase Franklin Corp.

Susan Blankenbaker Noyes - daughter of Republican former Indiana state senator Virginia Murphy Blankenbaker.

Victoria Chou - dean of the College of Education at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Among tens of thousands of other highly respected American citizens who have known Ayers since the 1960s. Go get 'em, John and Sarah!

[MsBeale]

Wasn't Weather Underground protesting the Vietnam War, because war is h ell, forcing young Americans to go overseas and fight and kill and be imprisoned by Communists.... oh wait.

The young punk Bill Ayers was fighting in his own way, to bring people like John McCain home from the war, or fighting to keep people like John McCain from going to Vietnam in the first place.

[RightWingMarine]

How does robbing a Brinks truck in 1981 going to end the Vietnam war or bring anyone home from that war? How does the cold-blooded execution of Officer Brown in the course of this robbery help bring about the end of the Vietnam war?

[MsBeale]

First of all, 1981 occurred after the Vietnam War ended. So you're right. Bombing Brinks trucks in 1981 wouldn't be a very clever way to protest the Vietnam War.

Secondly, Ayers didn't bomb a Brinks truck in 1981, and he didn't kill Officer Brown. Kathy Boudin, Judith Alice Clark, and David Gilbert did. They were convicted and sent to jail for the bombing.

You might want to double check your sources, sir.

[Ladyrantsalot]

I'm as appalled as the next person by McCain's pathetic efforts to link Ayers to Obama. But get real. Ayers has not been "rehabilitated." He has expressed no regret for the tactics he pursued as a Weatherman. The bombings he and his pals set off were terrorism. Their actions set the anti-war movement back by at least 2 years. If it weren't for the excrable tactics of John Mitchell, Ayers would have spent most of his life in prison. He was and is a spoiled, self-regarding, son-of-a-rich-man terrorist. Don't defend him. He doesn't deserve it and posts like this undermine the Obama campaign.

[DontSpin]

Did you read this?:

"It was extremely poor judgment on Weathermen's part to resort to violence and odd and erroneous on Ayers' part to elevate violence and destruction of properties built with the tax money from many people who also opposed to Vietnam War to the level of education. It's an utter insult to all true educators, of whom he is currently one." It doesn't sound like a "defense" to me.

Again you're saying "The bombings he and his pals set off were terrorism" without countering any of the points that the author makes, including the fact that they neither killed nor intended to kill a single American. I'm not going to call them terrorists because "terrorist" should be reserved for animals such as Al Qaeda members. If you want to equate them, go right ahead.

[terragazelle60]

Have you done any research on what Ayers said or are you just repeating the McCain talking Points? Ayers said he was sorry that he was not able to do enough...To SAVE THE LIVES OF THOSE 58,000 lives that are listed on the Wall in DC. Ever been there? I have.

The Weathermen did not kill anyone..and those who were sent to prison got out and went on with their lives. I was around then...If he was spoiled he would not have cared about the lives of those he could not get anything from.

Truth never under cuts anything.

[PioneerKing]

The real John McCain
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/19/watch-mccain-didnt-love-a_n_108191.html
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/make_believe_maverick_the_real_john_mccain
http://www.notmytribe.com/2008/mccain-was-dubbed-the-pow-songbird-83448.html

McCain associated with organization that funded the Taliban
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/10/06/why-mccains-time-with-cou_n_132470.html

McCain linked to the radical neo-con group Council for World Council Freedom
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chip-berlet/mccain-advised-ultra-righ_b_132612.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20081007/mccain-iran-contra/

McCain's "agent's of intolerence"
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/05/05/mccains-catholic-committe_n_100277.html

McCain on earmarks
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/fact-checker/2008/05/mccains_fantasy_war_on_earmark.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ari-rabin-havt/john-mccains-60-million-i_b_106362.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-benen/jukebox-john-keeps-changi_b_112148.html
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/23316955/the_doubletalk_express/1

McCain's donors
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/07/mccain-donor-mccain-worse_n_117469.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/08/08/double-standard-if-obama_n_117768.html

The real Sarah Palin
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/02/palins-church-may-have-sh_n_123205.html
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/23318320/mad_dog_palin
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-persily/palin-only-repeating-conv_b_125197.html

[optech007]

"In response, Obama has accurately pointed out that Ayers committed his actions over forty years ago, when Obama was eight years old."

How long would somebody who was 8 years old on 9/11 have to wait before they could associate with members of al-Qaeda?

[AmericasMostGangsta]

At least it's longer than a few month, which is the last time that McCain and Palin associated with Annenberg, who owns the board where ayers works; g. gordon liddy; anti-abortion activists who technically committed acts of terror, and Alaska independence party, who are treasonous and secessionist.

[DontSpin]

WUO did not kill a single American, nor did they intend to. Al Qaeda is an international terrorist organization that planned for and killed 3,000 Americans on U.S. soil. The idea that you're comparing these two groups is ridiculous.

[claylandg]

The Idea that you are defending wuo is terrible, I'm so glad people weren't killed I know as you are but just becuse people weren't killed dosen't make it less of a crime. It was terrible 911 but also was other bombings by wuo this association isn't the issue to me it's the association of several people in Obama life and in his very short time in office this list isn't one to be proud of. let's face it all politicans have associations in there past that's not maybe looked at in the best of light but hopefully they have a record to run on wether you like it or not my problem with Obama his record is so thin, what has he really done ?and was a leader on?
So if this record is so thin then i look at the man and look to see what he is about, who has been involved in his live, his campagne, his climb to fame and as i look at him i see people like tony , Ayres, Wright etc that it just make me uncomfortable and not able to vote for him.cAll this voter stuff reminds me of Obama when he was in Chicago ot reminds me of how he won the race buy getting names off the registration of his opponites it's the same chiicago style stuff.

[dulcis]

Yes, indeed, and I demand to know why several Republicans served on a board with William Ayers, and why Ronald Reagan appointed Walter Annenberg as ambassador to the UK, when he allowed William Ayers to serve on the board of one of his foundations? Perhaps Ronald Reagan was a traitor?

[TexasDem0]

"the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."

Shock and Awe?

[demfriend]

WHile McCain and Palin call Ayers and others terrorists they fail to say where they have also gone the direction of "ANTI-American" McCain's history is the Senate and behind the actions of people as in the Iran-Contra affair and Keating as just two examles with many more out there is huge. The other is that the Palin family has promoted and been involved in the attempt to seceed from the US of A ALaska. A state of our union. Husband a dues paying member and wife who gave as recently as this year a speech in support of this same group is about as ANTI as we know. Except to toss bombs the incitement of riots and violence is also seen as ANTI but the GOP and the ticket they have are promoting these things as I write.

[LaFilleEnRose]

Although they claim to be, with the Ayers attacks, Palin/McCain ain't as Christian as they say they are...b/c since these deeds are so long ago, they must not believe in "redemption" -- a basic tenet of Christianity. Obama is a Christian.

[TakeNoNeoConPrisoners]

McCain Pals Around with Racists, Anti-Semites and Nazis

Back in the 1980s John McCain sat on the board of the extremist
"U.S. Council for World Freedom" an ultra-conservative right
wing organization which was affiliated with the "World Anti-communist
League." The Anti-Defamation League said that it was a gathering place,
a forum and a point of contact for extremists, racists and anti-semites.

The McCain/Palin 'guilt by association' game, may backfire because it
is providing ammunition that links John McCain with his anti-semite
pals and nazis. The U.S. Council for World Freedom founder John
Singlaub was involved in the Iran-Contra scandal during the mid-1980s
and was criticized for supposed links to Nazi collaborators and
right-wing death squads in Central America. Singlaub told Congress
that he helped funnel arms to anti-communist forces in Nicaragua,
in violation of a congressional ban. McCain joined the group's
advisory board for a time as he was launching his political career in
Arizona in the early 1980s. My, my - what a striking similarity
between Obama's early political career, with Obama crossing paths
with William Ayers, and McCain's similar early political career
experience that connects him (by association which the McCain
campaign seems to think is fair game) with Nazis and right wing
death squads. It'll be in interesting if this becomes a wider news
story to see McCain bob and weave his way through this 'mine field
of his ownmaking.

[RightWingMarine]

I agree that calling Bill Ayers a terrorist doesn't make him so, it's his actions and assocaition with a terrorist organization that make him so. As for the claim that the Weathermen Underground and the claim that no one died by their hand, what about:
Brian V. Mcdonnell killed by a police dept bombing on feb 16, 1970
Robert Fogarty seriously wounded by the same bombing, no he's not dead but the intent was there.

Diana Oughton
Ted Gold
Terry Robbins all members of the WUO who were killed while building a bomb filled with shrapnel that was to be used at a dance put on for Army officers. They only killed themselves but is incompetance really a defense?

Edward O'Grady
Waverly Brown
Peter Paige all murdered during a Brinks armored truck robbery on Oct 20, 1981 orchastrated in part by the WUO and was a cause for Ayer's wife Dohrn being sent to prison.

What about the 28 police officers injured during the Days of Rage put on by the WUO?
What about the damage done to the city through vandalism during the Days of Rage and the damage to private property?

[DontSpin]

Was WUO charged, prosecuted and found guilty in any of those deaths?

Incompetence isn't a defense. But those couple of WUO members who were killed were not killed due to an intentional attempt on the part of WUO as an organization. They were killed due to an accident and death by accident doesn't equate terrorism, which is by definition intentional.

And damage to property - private or public - is vandalism, not terrorism.

[RightWingMarine]

The WUO is not a person and not incorporated, it cannot be charged.

No the WUO members who blew themselves up were not intending to, their intent was to blow up some other people and kill them. That is why shrapnel was put into the bomb, to kill other people in a terrorist attack.

The definition of terrorism is: "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce..." property destruction is included in terrorist acts.

You forgot Ed O'Grady, Waverly Brown, Peter Paige. How do you justify their murders?

[claylandg]

You need to reread the defination.
The FBI may call Weathermen a terrorist group, but the FBI's definition of terrorism is rather broad, defining terrorism as "the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives."

See in the part where it say violence against Person OR Property, so by this definition it is terriorism.
It has an OR there .

[TakeNoNeoConPrisoners]

Sarah Palin's association with the Alaskan Independence Party

The McCain/Palin 'guilt by association' game, may backfire because it
is providing ammunition that links Sarah Palin with radicals and
secessionists in Alaska.

Palin and her husband attended the party's 1994 convention at a Best
Western in Wasilla, Alaska at which Palin also spoke to the party's
convention in the same hotel in 2006 when she was running for governor.

"Keep up the good work," Sarah Palin told members of the Alaskan
Independence Party in a videotaped speech to their convention six
months ago in Fairbanks. She wished the party luck on what she
called its "inspiring convention."

The Alaskan Independence Party, founded in 1978, initially promoted
"the Alaskan independence movement." But now, according to its
website, "its primary goal is merely a vote on secession."

The Palins' links to a party founded by the late secessionist gold
miner Joe Vogler could prove awkward. "I'm an Alaskan, not an American,"
Vogler is quoted as saying elsewhere on the party"s website. "I've
got no use for America or her damned institutions."

No longer a fringe party, the AIP is a viable third party with a
serious mission and qualified candidates for elected offices.

It'll be in interesting if this becomes a wider news story to see Palin
wink and cutesy her way through this 'mine field of her ownmaking.'

[AKgoldwaterRepublican]

If Ayers is a terrorist, then why don't Mr. McCain and President Bush walk their talk and arrest him and imprison him in Guantanamo (sic) like they've done to so many other accused terrorist?

Why the inconsistency . . . I mean for Christ sake, this 'terrorist' is clearly in their grasp.

[hartkid]

But how many Americans consider America or Israel "terrorists"?


Millions, worldwide.

[bklynsparrow]

the we should be adding in the Palestinians, Saudis, Iranians, and quite a few others, no? I mean- just to be accurate.

[vegas9999]

That is why we need more Michael Moore movies right? He sure helps our image around the world.