Jack the Lad,

There is a distinction between state mandated terrorism and that of terrorists groups. All the "necessity" arguments aside, a State that claims to follow the rule of law and then engages in terrorism has begun to loose its credibility. After all the justifications and rationalizations, once the State accepts assassinations a legitimate tool and places itself outside its own laws, it begins to eat away at its own legitimacy. The State, as a State, should (IMO anyway) adopt a higher moral, ethical and legal standard than that of a terrorist. Regards

John