Title: PolitiFact | What's the definition of 'terrorism'?
Headings: What's the definition of 'terrorism'?
What's the definition of 'terrorism'?
Content: Governments like having loose definitions of terrorism for a couple reasons. Having a broad definition (or multiple definitions) increases a government’s options for responding. And once the government does label something "terrorism," it’s a surefire way to justify hard-edged responses to the public. Sometimes a government will deny something is terrorism because they agree with the ultimate goal. " What is problematic is that too many places and people are not interested in arriving at a reasonable working definition because they are heavily invested in promoting terrorism," said Theodore R. Bromund, a senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. Governments also benefit from the common belief that terrorism is committed by non-state actors, whether that happens to be an organized group or a "lone wolf." "Some would argue, for example, that Allied strategic bombing during World War II was a kind of terrorism because we targeted civilians in the hope that it would help induce the governments in Japan and Germany to end the war," Janda said. " The answer often largely depends on who you're asking and what axe they have to grind." Sometimes it’s easier to define what terrorism is not than what it is. Here are some of the notions that Hoffman considers distinct from terrorism: