The United States government commits acts of terrorism

I will agree to your definition of terrorism, even though the Nuremburg Tribunals ruled that a war of aggression is actually worse than an act of terrorism. I do disagree with is the second clause of your interpretation of your definition. The goals of the assailant do matter. The act must be intended to influence a third party in a specific direction. To make my argument, I will offer as the first support a situation that you ignored, the war in Nicaragua as well as El Salvador. The second piece of support will be the US's treatment of Indigenous peoples on the North American continent. Third, I will look at supposedly "collateral" or "unintended" civilian consequences in Iraq and argue them as a deliberately crafted policy. I think that this comprises a wide enough range to conclude not only that the US government commits acts of terrorism (of which winning the argument in Nicaragua would be sufficient) but that over its history, the United States can be regarded as a terrorist state. So that no one will question my patriotism, or feel that a vote for my side would make you non-patriotic, this results because the US is situated as the global hegemon in singular control of the world where they are forced to performs actions that prove, as George Bush I said in reference to the First Gulf War, "What we say, goes." Ronald Reagan's war in Nicaragua is as clear an example of state terrorism in the United States' history. Ronald Reagan funded the "Contras" which were a rebel force trying to overthrow the government. Washington had full knowledge that the rebel army engaged in tactics such as "burning down schools and medical clinics, raping, torturing, mining harbors, bombing and strafing." All of these attacks were directed against the citizens of Nicaragua attempting to make them "not make mistakes in voting." This is a clear attempt to influence a third party, and the US government further attempted to rig the election. This meets all parts of the definition as it was violence against civilians designed to influence a third party (a government which was run by the Sandinistas.) The situation in El Salvador is similar, but slightly different. Instead of attempting to influence the government, they chose to help the government of El Salvador eliminate its opposition. This would be comparable to George Bush deciding to wipe out Democrats and it was a comparable result. The government of El Salvador (with the full knowledge and coordinated assistance of the US government) unleashed death squads on the population that resulted in 75,000 civilian deaths. Again it meets all elements of the definition of terrorism. The situation with the Indigenous Americans is a very complicated one. Not only did the US government violated treaties, they also conducted an early campaign of biological warfare. This is evidenced by the deliberate introduction of smallpox into Midwestern Indigenous communities. The massacre at Wounded Knee is further evidence of a deliberate campaign to target Indigenous Civilians to force them off of land. These were not isolated incidents but part of a policy that lasted at least until the United States stretched "from sea to shining sea." My last example is the battle of Fallujah in Iraq. When it was discovered that resistance forces were hiding in Fallujah, the United States army decided to level the entire city. They began a massive bombing campaign and wiped out a significant amount of civilians very deliberately. Looking at pictures of Fallujah before and after the campaign is to look at the devestation that is invited on people when they fail to understand that "What we say, goes." The above evidence seems to me to be sufficient to demonstrate not only that the US commits terrorist actions, but also that throughout its almost 250 year history, it is a terrorist state. While this is my conclusion, the debate goes "Pro" if I prove that the US government has committed terrorist actions. I think even this brief survey proves that beyond a shadow of a doubt. The information about El Salvador and Nicaragua are from William Blum's "Rogue State"