[RightWhale]

which makes them directly responsible

Responsibility is an interesting thing. We have to register our cars and ourselves as drivers, which makes the driving public an institution of the state. Is the government directly responsible for how we drive? The press is an institution of the state. Is the government directly responsible for what the NYT publishes?

[Edgerunner]

That they are registered makes them an institution of the state and purely political.

If they are, as you state, an institution of the state, and they are used to attack another state, I would say yes! If you think not, then our army, which is an institution of our state, could attack any country, and it would not be an act of war. Driving and war may seem the same, but one is a transportation system, the other a destructive endeavor. And the NYT isn't even responsible for what they print, but in Russia, the government is responsible (since they now control much of the media)!