Copied from the J. Ramsey board:


Polls Voice: Osama Bin Laden.
Luigi Novi: Osama bin Laden isn't a politician.

Dotter31: Right. Osama has never held any government office or attempted to hold one. Terrorism is not a form of politics.

bin Laden is a politician, he's just not an elected one. He leads, manipulates, represents people...

Copied from dictionary.com:

pol·i·ti·cian ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pl-tshn)
n.

1. One who is actively involved in politics, especially party politics.
2. One who holds or seeks a political office.
3. One who seeks personal or partisan gain, often by scheming and maneuvering: “Mothers may still want their favorite sons to grow up to be President, but... they do not want them to become politicians in the process” (John F. Kennedy).
4. One who is skilled or experienced in the science or administration of government.

1. OBL is not a member of a political party.

2. He has never sought a political office. Though some terrorist groups do move into politics(IRA, Hamas) Al-qaeda has yet to pursue any legitmate political action.

3. While OBL does scheme and maneuver, I don't think that should include violence and murder of innocent people(or even legitimate targets). Terrorism, though it may have political goals, has no legitimate place in p
olitics, . Warfare, perhaps, but not politics.
4. Not sure about this one, but I doubt it.

I guess before we begin, we should make sure we're all on the same page. I am assuming that when using dictionaries, it can but does not have to satisfy all of the definitions given. Additionally, a specific dictionary's defintions doesn't necessarily mean that the definitions given are the only ones.

Main Entry: pol·i·tics
Pronunciation: 'pä-l&-"tiks
Function: noun plural but singular or plural in construction
Etymology: Greek politika, from neuter plural of politikos political
1 a : the art or science of government b : the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy c : the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government
2 : political actions, practices, or policies
3 a : political affairs or business; especially : competition between competing interest groups or individuals for power and leadership (as in a government) b : political life especially as a principal activity or profession c : political activities characterized by artful and often dishonest practices
4 : the political opinions or sympathies of a person
5 a : the total complex of relations between people living in society b : relations or conduct in a particular area of experience especially as seen or dealt with from a political point of view <office politics> <ethnic politics>

Regarding OBL being a politician, I'm going on him being on because he engages in politics. Some definitions of politics are provided above. Some of them are good examples of what I'm trying to argue. bin Laden engages in political action and therefore, should be classified as a politician.

I appreciate you seeking out other, perhaps better definitions- I was merely finding one as a starting point. :-)

IMO the involvement of violence and murder precludes any label of 'politician'. Politics is about discussion and debate(honest and civil, or not), not murder. I think that adding violence to politics turns it into terrorism- using fear of death and death itself to motivate change instead of reason and discussion.

bin Laden only uses terrorism because the USA and other countries won't negotiate with him. If we were willing to negotiate and compromise with some of his demands, he probably wouldn't have to resort to blowing us up.

I know this might sound cheezy, but lets look back on a wise man's words...

"...is a politician and they're not to be trusted." - Benjamin Kenneth Obi

btw, that politics def came from http://www.m-w.com

Sorry

Bin Laden isnt a polititian, but he affects politics. Not unlike Rush Limbaugh or God. (None of the above hold any offical office, but all 3 affect politics, through their actions and in some cases inactions.)Therefore, since we have a Political board for Limbaugh, Bin Laden should get one too.

I was actually surprised that there wasn't a board for him.

OBL uses terrorism because he believes that is what God wants, or that is what he tells his followers at least. He's not interested in negotiating with anyone for anything. Beyond the spread of radical Islam across the world I'm not sure what his demands are. At first he wanted the US out of Saudi Arabia, now he wants the US out of Iraq(after hoping the US would go in) His 'demands' are pretexts to commit more terrorist acts, which gain him more followers.

A terrorist group can move into the political arena legitimately(IRA, Hamas) and be in an actual position to negotiate, but Al-Qaeda has made no attempts to do so, and leaves little room for discussion. "Do what we want or we'll rain destruction upon you and kill your people."

Polls, which of those definitions that you provided do you feel fits bin Laden?

Aaron, the probably reason there was no board for him until now was because discussion of topics pertinent him took place on the 9/11 boards.

b : the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy

But if that's the definition, then in your view, are all terrorists and bombers "politicians"?

well, what's the problem? Politician's evilness can't always be because they're lawyers

I don't know if there's a "problem", but I would ask you, do you consider anyone who uses a bomb to kill people to be a "politician"?

Polls, If I were to go out and whack a politician whom I disagreed with, would I be a legitimate political actor?

IMO, no. Violence and murder have no place in politics. Why would it be different if to influence that same politician I blew up his constituents?

I don't know if there's a "problem", but I would ask you, do you consider anyone who uses a bomb to kill people to be a "politician"?

I'd limit politician to someone who holds a political office or at least attempts attempts to take an office.

Someone like Bin Laden is is Rush Limbaugh or Martin Luthor King, they lead people and effect political actions of others.

It took 2 weeks for Bin Laden to comment about the foiled Detroit bomber plot, and how he was going to attack America and blah blah blah.
2 weeks to comment?
This loser is such a non-entity these days, and I unfortunately believe with 99 % confidence that he'll never be caught. Nobody's trying anymore.
9 years and 4 months after 9/11 and he's still free?
Doesn't add up.

Nit. 8 years and 4 months.

Bin Laden commented on it? Geez, I hadn't even heard this.

Yea, the news mentioned it around last Tuesday or so.
And he took credit for it.

Well, justice finally caught up with him. A U.S. Navy Seal team shot him dead the other day.

The man who hunted Osama bin Laden

Profile of the CIA analyst, who is known only by his middle name, John, and how the years he spent hunting bin Laden led to the now-famous raid that killed him.