[Originally published as a letter to the public editor in the New York Times.]
Re “Separating the Terror and the Terrorists” (Dec. 14):
I write as a long-retired C.I.A. station chief and chief of the counterterrorism staff. I served abroad in East and West Europe and the Middle East over a 25-year career.
Some insurgents commit terrorist acts (Chechnya) and some terrorists run hospitals (Hamas). It is a confusing landscape, but the fact remains that differentiating accurately between terrorists and insurgents is extremely important. The label you give any person, act or program will determine who signs on to your program to deal with it and, more important, the tactics you will use to counter it.
The wrong label is likely to produce the wrong tactics and ultimately produce unintended negative consequences, as in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The answer to this conundrum may well lie in labeling acts, rather than people.
Haviland Smith
Williston, Vt.
Dec. 14, 2008
Rural Ruminations 