It used to be said the first casualty of war is the truth. But today we do not even need wars to see truth destroyed. Even domestic conflicts in distant countries can do the job, with a flood of black information and news distortions produced, some causing enormous harm. The distorted interpretation of Sri Lanka's war against Tamil insurgents is one example. Another has been the way Beijing continues to be pilloried for a mythical student massacre during the June 3/4, 1989, Tiananmen incident.

Let's begin with Sri Lanka. Western governments now have the bad habit of using indiscriminately the word "terrorist" to denounce groups they do not like but which use force to promote causes. At last count the British had listed more than 50 such groupings around the globe as terrorist organizations, the United States more than 40, and the Australians more than 30.

The United Nations might still be struggling to give us a definition of "terrorist." And if using force to promote a cause is terrorism then what was the American revolution against the British, or the French resistance against Nazi occupation? But for our Western governments these are not problems. Those fighting on our side are the good guys. Those opposed are "terrorists.'