So.

As somebody who grew up in England during the height of the Troubles, I would argue there are also two main KINDS of terrorist.

I remember being asked in college what it was like to live in a country where "terrorists are active." I was unable to answer the question because I literally could not comprehend living in a country where they weren't. I grew up drilled on terrorism in much the same way as kids in the Midwest are taught to flee to the basement if there's a tornado. (My husband is Minnesotan and he once dragged me out of the apartment so quickly my head whirled because there was a tiny little twister heading Right For Us. Miraculously, our windows held).

Then I moved to the U.S.

Then came 911.

And I understood that there was a HUGE difference between Al Qaeda and the IRA.

For example, one of the IRA's favorite tricks was to tell the cops in London they had put bombs at four or five locations in London. They would do this thirty minutes before rush hour.

There was an actual bomb at ONE of the locations.

They didn't want to kill people. They wanted to make us angry. They wanted us alive and putting pressure on our leaders.

9/11 was a completely different thing. This was people who legit wanted to kill as many people, ideally civilians, as possible. They wanted to wreck our economy. Arguably, they earned a partial victory, given how we reacted...we reacted just the way they wanted.

And the other key difference. When we offered to actually talk to Sinn Fein, when we showed a willingness to compromise and negotiate, guess what?

They. Stopped. Blowing. Things. Up.

(I've been terrified Brexit would start things up again and my poor cousins would get the same childhood I did. Still holding my breath on that).

So I would argue that there are two broad types of terrorism:

The first is like riots. The language of the unheard. Nobody will talk to us, we have to get their attention somehow. You end up with the IRA that way, you end up with ETA. It's ineffably political, but it's diplomacy by other means. It's a form of skirmish warfare.

Then there's the "We just want to hurt our enemies" brand which comes out of fanaticism and fear.

And even after living with it for years, I know which kind is easier to deal with.