I believe Bhoonte's defination of "terrorist" is more consistant with that of the Americans. Unfortunately "terrorist" as defined by the Americans is accepted only by the Americans themselves and some of their closest allies not the entire world. Borrowing the defination of "terrorists" from the Americans, some of the dictators around the world have used it in a higly skillfull manner to defend themselves from their political opponents in their homelands. Mussaraff used it in Pakistan so did Gynendra in Nepal. Many repressive governments around the world have used it since post-9/11 to justify their repressive acts.