History Q & A

Is Terrorism New?

by David Greenberg

With last Tuesday's horrific assault,"terrorism" has become the new American watchword and scourge. Yet as George Bush declares a war on terrorism," neither he nor anyone else has defined what terrorism is or where it comes from. Doing so may help us to face a frightening reality: the catastrophe of September 11 represents terrorism of a new, more challenging kind.Not all political violence, it should be specified, amounts to terrorism. Committed by stateless organizations against established powers, terrorism doesn't attack military centers to seize power, like guerrilla warfare. It specifically targets random, unsuspecting victims to publicize a grievance and sow panic among the strong.The word comes from the French Revolution's"Reign of Terror" (1793-94), when Robespierre's Jacobins executed 12,000 people deemed enemies of the Revolution, often for flimsy reasons. Since the Jacobins ran the state, we wouldn't call them terrorists today. Still, their vision of a violent purge in the name of Utopia provided a model for later insurgents.

So Who the Hell Is India?

by HNN Staff

This is India. She says that George W. Bush's favorite subject in school was ... HISTORY! So who the hell is India? She is the Bush family's White House cat. She is also, according to the new White House website for kids, the First Family's"unofficial historian." Doris Kearns Goodwin, step aside.

Leaks to the Media ... An Old Story?

Image via Shutterstock.Leaks through History Was It Illegal for President Bush to Leak Classified Secrets to Bob Woodward?Deep Throat and the FBI's History of Hiding Its Own LeaksWhy Did President Ford Ban Assassinations? (Explains that Ford leaked the fact that the CIA had plotted the assassination of foreign leaders.)Rick Shenkman: Leaks that might have changed the history of Vietnam Athan Theoharis: Deep Throat and the FBI's History of Hiding Its Own LeaksCIA Spy Case: Valerie Plame Leak Note: This article was first published October 10, 2001 and has been updated.