It's no great surprise to me that State officials use words like 'Terrorism' to justify a variety of State policies at home and abroad that would be harder to implement if citizens were not focusing on fear and self-protection. The clearest explanation of this tactic that I know of is the essay, War is the Health of the State by Randolph Bourne (
http://flag.blackened.net/revolt/hist_texts/warhealthstate1918.html)
What's inexcusable is journalists repeating the propaganda without comment as if there is some objective meaning to the words.