“Terrorism” comes from the French word terrorism and originally referred specifically to state terrorism as practiced by the French government during the 1793จC1794 Reign of Terror. The French word terrorisme in turn derives from the Latin verb terrere (e, terreo) meaning “to frighten”. The Jacobins, coming to power in France in 1792, are said to have initiated the Reign of Terror (French: La Terreur). After the Jacobins lost power, the word “terrorist” became a term of abuse.
Although “terrorism” originally referred to acts committed by a government, currently it usually refers to the killing of innocent people[19] for political purposes in such a way as to create a spectacle[citation needed]. This meaning can be traced back to Sergey Nechayev, who described himself as a “terrorist.” Nechayev founded the Russian terrorist group “People’s Retribution” 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”. Alternatively, responding to developments in modern warfare, Paul James and Jonathan Friedman distinguish between state terrorism against non-combatants and state terrorism against combatants, including ‘Shock and Awe’ tactics:
“Shock and Awe” as a subcategory of “rapid dominance” is the name given to massive intervention designed to strike terror into the minds of the enemy. It is a form of state-terrorism. The concept was however developed long before the Second Gulf War by Harlan Ullman as chair of a forum of retired military personnel.