Yes, I do think the Weather Underground should be identified as a terrorist group based on the reasons and motives that primarily guided them. The Weather Underground, a group led by Bill Ayers and Bernardine Dohrn, went on to carry out a campaign of bombings and violent actions directed against government buildings and security apparatus in the US during the 1970s. In an interview under which author Smith published the article, Bill Ayers confessed that he actively engaged in the bombing of some major establishments like the New York City Police Headquarters, the Capitol Building, and the Pentagon (Smith, 2001). These crimes were committed for the sake of demolishing the even forces and providing an atmosphere of chaos, horror and violation in order to mount a revolution and replace the legitimate government. Aside from the effects of the Weather Underground’s activities, there were a number of innocent lives lost, including members of the organization as well as bystanders. This is evidenced by the accidental explosion in a New York City Greenwich Village townhouse (Smith, 2001).
In addition, the Weather Underground’s motivations are domestic terrorism organizations, which are merely outside the scope of conventional terrorist organizations. The anti-state group promoted violent and extreme left-wing ideologies, which included aiding them to achieve their political objectives. This is what defines terrorism, as discussed in the module 3 video lesson materials. The killing of the civilians was not a random incident, but they were constituents of a collective series of plans to shake up the regime and cause a social meltdown. Their key objective was to spy on government and law enforcement only, while, in fact, they actually tipped the balance to the detriment of the lives of civilians and non-combatants.
Consequently, the attitude of the Weather Underground group towards their violent acts in the period of 1969-1970, for instance, a statement made by Bill Ayers, portrays them as a group of terrorists. In other movements, DePaul’s activists employed non-traditional methods of struggle to convince the world about the injustices which prevailed in their society. However, the complete disregard they displayed for the morals and ethics of their violence also leads to a lack of respect for the sanctity and dignity of human life as well as the rule of law, a pattern of behaviour that reflects that of terrorist organizations. Burrough 2015 reveals the violent ways of militant groups like Weathermen Underground that were in operation in the 1970s. The Weather Underground and the other underground groups, as well, believed in violence as an ultimate way to achieve peace and racial equality in the States and to stop the Vietnam War. They were aimed at police officers and governmental institutions, which were given bombing treatment and other similar malevolent activities. The repercussions of these actions are highly dramatic, as seen in the murder of police officers and the messy shooting of the BLA leader (Burrough, 2015). These acts are in the category of terrorism that fall under the traditional definition of this crime, which includes the use of violence and the creation of fear in order to reach political ends.
In conclusion, the ideology and faulting perceptions of terrorist groups give rise to their tactic of indiscriminate bombings and reluctance to consider civilian casualties as an effective means of realizing their agenda through fear and violence.
References
Burrough,B.(2015). The Untold Story Behind New York’s Most Brutal Cop Killings.https://www.dropbox.com/s/t7pjbfrrqs2dw31/The%20Untold%20Story%20Behind%20New%20York%E2%80%99s%20Most%20Brutal%20Cop%20Killings.pdf?e=4&dl=0
Protester Talks of Life With the Weathermen. https://www.dropbox.com/s/w8kixj4bluebzq3/No%20Regrets%20for%20a%20Love%20Of%20Explosives%3B%20In%20a%20Memoir%20of%20Sorts%2C%20a%20War%20Protester%20Talks%20of%20Life%20With%20the%20Weathermen%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times-1%20copy.pdf?e=2&dl=0
Smith, D.(2001). No Regrets for a Love Of Explosives; In a Memoir of Sorts, a War
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