History is recorded by the people who win. The way George Washington was thought of by the British was akin to being a terrorist by modern standards. If Osama bin-Laden had destroyed America, I’m sure he would have been considered a hero by many. Some people who we consider terrorist leaders are considered to be heroes by the Middle Eastern world. (Although not bin-Laden so much, because he’s mainly an instigator and the most of the Arab people realize that most of his activities usually just result in the Arab world getting blown up more.)
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This is obviously a point of substantial debate in the international system, but I would say a good place to draw the line is targeting civilians. That’s what terrorists do (or at least they don’t focus exclusively on military targets). Many freedom fighter groups will argue they have to do this to exercise their rights to self-determination as no one will pay any attention otherwise. There are lots of other ways to define terrorism, and I would say many revolutionary groups cross those lines from time to time.
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BA in International Studies

So, when they do that.
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