Diplomatic circles are abuzz with questions as to who or what inspired US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to come to the conclusion that there are no good terrorists and bad terrorists.

In a complete change from her earlier position that terrorists and terrorist activities should be looked at from different points of view of ideology, territory, personality etc. she now says " to distinguish between so-called good terrorists and bad terrorists is ultimately self-defeating and dangerous. No one who targets innocent civilians of any nationality should be tolerated or protected."

She said this in her opening remarks before the US House Foreign Affairs Committee in testimony on October 27, 2011.She and her team had explained this reality of terrorism to their Pakistani counterparts.

In an interview with the Guardian (UK) in October 23, 2007, when running for US Presidency she said "the bottom line is you can't lump all terrorists together. And I think we've got to do a much better job of clarifying what are the motivations, the raisons d'être of terrorists. I mean, what the Tamil Tigers are fighting for in Sri Lanka, or the Basque separatists in Spain, or the insurgents in al-Anbar province may only be connected by tactics. "

Interestingly many diplomatic sources recall that this wisdom about all terrorists being equally bad was stated by President Mahinda Rajapaksa long before Clinton revealed her new enlightenment on terrorism to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Here are four earlier occasions when President Mahinda Rajapaksa emphasized the need not to differentiate between good and bad terrorism.

• Speaking at the 15th SAARC Summit in Colombo on August 02, 2008, President Rajapaksa said "terrorism anywhere is terrorism and there are no good terrorists or bad terrorists."

• On December2, 2008 during a state visit to Turkey, the President said "there are no good terrorists or bad terrorists. All terrorists are bad.”

• During the G 11 Summit in Jordan on May 16, 2009, President Rajapaksa said: "It is worthwhile reminding ourselves over and over again that there are no good terrorists and bad terrorists. Terrorism anywhere is terrorism and should be treated in the manner it deserves."

• Addressing the UN General Assembly on September 23, 2010 he said "terror is terror, whatever mask it wears and however it is packaged."

Here is the relevant quote from Hillary Clinton’s testimony: “So in Islamabad last week, General Dempsey, Director Petraeus and I delivered a single, unified message – Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership must join us in squeezing the Haqqani Network from both sides of the border and in closing safe havens. We underscored to our Pakistani counterparts the urgency of the task at hand, and we had detailed and frank conversations about the concrete steps both sides need to take. I explained that trying to distinguish between so-called good terrorists and bad terrorists is ultimately self-defeating and dangerous. No one who targets innocent civilians of any nationality should be tolerated or protected.”

The question asked by many is whether Hillary Clinton is now ready to eat her words of October 23, 2007, when she said: “…I think one of our mistakes has been painting with such a broad brush, which has not been particularly helpful in understanding what it is we were up against when it comes to those who pursue terrorism for whichever ends they are seeking” (Guardian).