Great topic, interesting answers. The Mafia DO kill innocent civilians, sometimes it cannot be avoided. Someone gets in the know, they threaten you, you defy, you disappear. I know, it happened to my family. That being said, Mafia is a form of terrorism, they threaten and squeeze you for their gain, thus, instilling terror no different then what we experienced on 9/11, but on a much smaller scale but the message was the same. If you have something of use, they will find a way to get it, through force,psychology, or shrewd playing. Extremist Terrorism or, Fundamentalism is veiled by religion, but make no mistake, it is all motivated by money and resources. "Terrorists" are privately sponsored by unkown sources who have unlimited wealth at their fingertips and desire more. They normally kill in mass numbers, and usually innocent people. That being the major difference in societies that are very similar.

J. Geoff and little Mary, with all respect, unless you have lived it personally, it is impossible to make a supported opinion. What we see in a movie or read in a book is far different then when you live in a tiny island in the mediterranean or a Muslim nation in North Africa. Terrorists need money to fund their projects, it is a major business and you would be surprised at who does the funding. Sometimes these organizations work in concert because it is inevitable in the structure of it all. One major example are drugs. This is the major funding to terrorist groups; who controls the drug ops in America? The gov. turns their heads, the CIA and DEA make certain that drugs make it in, the Mafia,Mob, etc. provide it locally. The poppy for heroine is grown in Asiatic and Middle East nations, processed primarily in Italy and France for Europe, and in South America for the US. The Gov. allows it to happen because of the economics, imagine what would happen to our economy if you pulled all of the drug money out of the banks?