Terrorism
In November 2004, a Secretary-General of the United Nations report described terrorism as any act "intended to cause death or serious bodily harm to civilians or non-combatants with the purpose of intimidating a population or compelling a government or an international organization to do or abstain from doing any act". The international community has been slow to formulate a universally agreed, legally binding definition of this crime. These difficulties arise from the fact that the term "terrorism" is politically and emotionally charged. In this regard, Angus Martyn, briefing the Australian parliament, stated,
The international community has never succeeded in developing an accepted comprehensive definition of terrorism. During the 1970s and 1980s, the United Nations attempts to define the term floundered mainly due to differences of opinion between various members about the use of violence in the context of conflicts over national liberation and self-determination.
Symbolism of terrorism
The symbolic choices of terrorist targets are not only meant to send isolated messages, but reflect the greater symbolic rhetoric of terrorism in general. Terrorism, it has been argued, refutes the strategy of gaining ideological victory through a single act. Instead, "the rhetorical stance of terrorism... is patient, the chipping away at the symbolic or ideological foundation of its targets.” Each target is strategically chosen to fit into the greater message.