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Politics : View from the Center and Left -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: mph who wrote (15931)	4/4/2006 1:59:06 PM
From: Dale Baker	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 541900

The term "insurgents" seems to be utilized in order to attribute some legitimacy to the actions taken. That's a view held by a few here, and not by others. Like I told Lucky, I don't see the import outside of our own personal feelings and agendas. Many rightwing militias in Central America carried out similar slaughters in remote villages and they were called anticommunist forces or freedom fighters by some, depending on the country and the time. There is not much new under the sun, sadly.

To: mph who wrote (15931)	4/4/2006 2:23:41 PM
From: Lane3	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 541900

You're also assuming that there is a real difference between "insurgents" and "terrorists" in Iraq. I don't thing there's a difference, not in Iraq. In other countries there may be. But the insurgents in Iraq are all but defined by their terrorism. That doesn't make it invalid to call them insurgents. They are, after all, insurgents. They are rising up against the country's authority structure. This act was certainly an act of terrorism as are so many of the actions taken by the insurgents in Iraq. There's an NCAA championship basketball game tonite. Maryland vs. Duke. What do you call the participants? They are, duh, basketball players. They are also women. So why don't we refer to them as women? Because they're playing basketball. That is their salient role in this scenario. There's no disrespect to women in calling them players, no intent to deny that they're women. But they're playing basketball so we call them players. Just as we call those who are fighting back in in Iraq insurgents. Because that's what insurgents do. That they also happen to be Arabs or men or terrorists or Muslims is both peripheral and assumed.