Insurgents, Terrorists or what????

In my ears, "insurgent" is a bit like "rebel" or even "revolutionary." There's nothing axiomatically pejorative about it, and some passages of history have made it a term of honor. At a minimum, though, it must mean "rising up." These fascists and hirelings are not rising up, they are stamping back down. It's time for respectable outlets to drop the word, to call things by their right names (Baathist or Bin Ladenist or jihadist would all do in this case), and to stop inventing mysteries where none exist.

Christopher Hitchens wrote:

In my ears, "insurgent" is a bit like "rebel" or even "revolutionary." There's nothing axiomatically pejorative about it, and some passages of history have made it a term of honor. At a minimum, though, it must mean "rising up." These fascists and hirelings are not rising up, they are stamping back down. It's time for respectable outlets to drop the word, to call things by their right names (Baathist or Bin Ladenist or jihadist would all do in this case), and to stop inventing mysteries where none exist.

How about calling them "Iraqi patriots?"

Christopher Hitchens wrote:

In my ears, "insurgent" is a bit like "rebel" or even "revolutionary." There's nothing axiomatically pejorative about it, and some passages of history have made it a term of honor. At a minimum, though, it must mean "rising up." These fascists and hirelings are not rising up, they are stamping back down. It's time for respectable outlets to drop the word, to call things by their right names (Baathist or Bin Ladenist or jihadist would all do in this case), and to stop inventing mysteries where none exist.

How about calling them "Iraqi patriots?"

I'll do that when they stop killing civilians. To attack the police and soldiers is far different then blowing up civilians.

Be more than glad to if they were all from Iraq

tommrr wrote:

Be more than glad to if they were all from Iraq

But you'd agree, then, that the Iraqis among the insurgents are Iraqi patriots, correct?

Baldimo wrote:

I'll do that when they stop killing civilians. To attack the police and soldiers is far different then blowing up civilians.

How does blowing up civilians make one less of a patriot?

Zargawi is Jordanian and his band of thugs appear to be from other countries.......mostly from Saudi land, Syria, and Kuwait seeking virgins after death. The most appropriate branding would be religious lunatics.

The Baathists are Sunni and they could lay claim to the term patriot with some legitimacy so yes.......you could call them patriots but I won't because their motives have to do with greed and power instead of any true patriotic fervor for their country and all it's citizens.

The point is that the term insurgent is completely false because there is no attempt on the part of any group to win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi population as a true insurgent would try to do. The term insurgent is a construct of the liberal media in order to put some sort of favorable camouflage on the suicide bombings that are killing hundreds of Iraqi civilians every day.

What are you using as your definition of "patriot"?

What point would it serve to blow up civilians other then to create terror.

McGentrix wrote:

What are you using as your definition of "patriot"?

As I mentioned in the "I want the US to lose the war in Iraq" thread: "Given that the definitions of "patriot" offered in this thread seem to apply equally to the Iraqis who are opposing the US as to those Americans who support the war, I see no reason not to call them "patriots" as well." I am, therefore, willing to accept just about any definition of "patriot" that was offered in that thread. To save you the trouble of finding them all (I know how easily tired you are, McG), I'll just settle on the definition that I offered: someone who wants what is best for his/her country.

If you are applying that definition to this situation, then NO, they can not be considered to be patriots.

There truly are villians in this story and they are blowing up cars and killing innocent Iraqi's every day. Not patriotic. Not what is best for their country.