All terrorists great and small

Last week, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright released a list of 30 designated terrorist groups. But in its bid to smoke out terrorists, the U.S. is walking a fine line.

Yes, terrorism should not be condoned in any form. But while groups such as Hamas, one of Albright's top 30 terrorist groups, are condemned for their attacks, terrorist acts by governments should likewise be denounced.

One that comes immediately to mind is the botched assassination attempt by Israel on Hamas' political chief Khaled Meshal in Jordan last month.

Incidents involving double standards abound.

For example, in 1985, Israel sent bombers to attack Tunis, killing 75 people. The attack was justified as retaliation for the murder of three Israelis in Larnaca, Cyprus.

At the time of the bombings, the murderers had been caught and were facing trial. And both Israeli and American intelligence conceded that nobody in Tunis was responsible. It was, they said, organized by groups based in Syria.

Syria, of course, was not your run-of-the-mill type of villain. It had a missile defense system and was under Soviet protection. So other, weaker Arabs would have to pay for the terrible crime in Larnaca. The U.S. applauded Israel for the attack, calling it a legitimate response to terrorism.

The same doctrine, the right to retaliate -- often against civilians -- was invoked to justify the U.S. bombing of Tripoli and Benghazi in 1986, killing an estimated 200 people, including the adopted daughter of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi. Libya's "crime" was a terrorist bombing in Berlin which was later traced to the Assad regime in Syria.

U.S. officials have often argued that American violence is not employed for its own sake, but to meet a pragmatic objective. This so-called more humane notion of state terrorism would, of course, be readily accepted by Saddam Hussein, Kim Jong-il or Benjamin Netanyahu.

Make no mistake. Terrorism is terrorism whether its perpetrators are individuals, groups or states, which is why Albright's list of terrorist groups is far from complete. Missing are those governments, including the U.S., which carry out terrorist acts with impunity, and without the same kind of criticism often leveled against officially designated terrorist groups.

-- The Nation, Bangkok