Quote:
Originally Posted by MMM
After reading that they sound more like Al Qaeda terrorist factions than I originally thought.
Al Qaeda terrorist factions have safe havens in certain places, too. You can say they have only broken "maritime laws", but their actions are not much different from terrorists (kidnapping, sinking ships, destruction of property). They sink ships, calling the sailors of those ships "pirates", kind of how Al Qaeda calls Westerners names to justify their actions.
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Well they don't sink ships.
They've never kidnapped.
Their tactics are aimed at disrupting their operation. Not destroying the ships or murdering, maiming or capturing the whalers.
As for these safe-havens. Al Qaeda safe havens exist in nations which are also at odds with the West. New Zealand and Australia as well as many of the other nations opposed to whaling (The United States included) have an otherwise more than friendly relationship with Japan.
Also you're really stretching it with your "name calling" comparison. People call each other names all the time. Muslim fundamentalists use the word "infidel" (or that's what it translates to). Governments tend to call non-state actors that operate against them "terrorists". Al Qaeda or otherwise. If this is enough of a similarity for you to lump sea shepherd in with Al Qaeda then that is sad as I tend to regard you as one of the more intelligent members of this forum even when we disagree.