Page "State terrorism" Paragraph 12

Walter Laqueur has stated that those who argue that state terrorism should be included in studies of terrorism ignore the fact that “ The very existence of a state is based on its monopoly of power.

If it were different, states would not have the right, nor be in a position, to maintain that minimum of order on which all civilized life rests .” Calling the concept a “ red herring ” he stated: “ This argument has been used by the terrorists themselves, arguing that there is no difference between their activities and those by governments and states.

It has also been employed by some sympathizers, and rests on the deliberate obfuscation between all kinds of violence ...”