1. Presumption of guilt: Law enforcement doesn't go after "terrorists" or "criminals"; they go after _suspects_ in acts of terror or crime. Part of the norms in non-totalitarian states is that people don't get subjected coercive, violent and otherwise harmful action as though they are guilty of anything - until they are formally proven guilty.
2. The assumption that what the state legally defines as "terrorism" is indeed terrorism, i.e. "the calculated use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective. " There is a definite tendency to broaden the operative definition in many states in the world beyond the dictionary definition.
3. The assumption that the state, and its law enforcement organizations, always have the moral high-ground legitimizing its pursuit of terrorists. This is often not the case, as many states engage in terrorism against populations or groups they are hostile towards, while at the same time facing terrorism from those groups.
4. The assumption that the state, and its law enforcement organizations and personnel, don't misuse their capabilities to spy, harass or harm people who are not suspected of committing "terrorism" or any other crime for that matter.
1. Presumption of guilt: Law enforcement doesn't go after "terrorists" or "criminals"; they go after _suspects_ in acts of terror or crime. Part of the norms in non-totalitarian states is that people don't get subjected coercive, violent and otherwise harmful action as though they are guilty of anything - until they are formally proven guilty.
2. The assumption that what the state legally defines as "terrorism" is indeed terrorism, i.e. "the calculated use of violence to create a general climate of fear in a population and thereby to bring about a particular political objective. " There is a definite tendency to broaden the operative definition in many states in the world beyond the dictionary definition.
3. The assumption that the state, and its law enforcement organizations, always have the moral high-ground legitimizing its pursuit of terrorists. This is often not the case, as many states engage in terrorism against populations or groups they are hostile towards, while at the same time facing terrorism from those groups.
4. The assumption that the state, and its law enforcement organizations and personnel, don't misuse their capabilities to spy, harass or harm people who are not suspected of committing "terrorism" or any other crime for that matter.