This provocative examination of state terrorism asks readers to reconsider their assumptions about who are the "bad guys" and to question why so many outrages are committed against innocent civilians with impunity.
In the post-9/11 world, it is important to understand both status quo and "subversive" views about the nature of terrorism. Here, the subversives raise many troubling questions that are usually shunted aside in public debate.
Critic Noam Chomsky has often stated that the most serious form of terrorism is state-directed terrorism. The 11 contributors to "War and State Terrorism" agree, defining state terrorism as "systematic state violence against civilians in violation of international agreements, state edicts, and precedents established by international courts designed to protect the rights of civilians."