*tries to understand the jarbled mess of words he just read*
.....
Screw it, I can't read that horrible spelling.
Section 9 is an anti-terrorist group. That covers a very BROAD amount of situations. Motoko says that at a fundamental level, theft and joyriding are still acts of terrorism because they're making the lives of other people uncomfortable.
Their job is to uphold the peace, regardless of what kind of government they work for. If the government itself is threatening to change and disrupt the peace of the citizens of Japan, then they'll fight against them. Corrupt politicians threatening to get their way and make other's lives more difficult is terrorism too.
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"A SMARTER hitman would have shot first..." - Major Motoko Kusanagi