What's the difference between a "terrorist state" and a state with military that attacks civilians (or finds them to be acceptable casualties)? I don't think t

What's the difference between a "terrorist state" and a state with military that attacks civilians (or finds them to be acceptable casualties)? I don't think the term even makes sense when applied to a country. Lots of countries offer support for militia groups that work to destabilize governments and terrorize the populations of different countries. At this point, calling someone a terrorist is a dog whistle, because it's so broad to be almost meaningless. The differentiating factor seems to come down to US-backing.