One of my biggest pet peeves is the MSM's insistence on calling attackers against US troops and innocent civilians in Iraq "insurgents". The reason, apparently, is they couldn't get away with the label "freedom fighters".
With an assist from google, I came up with the following definitions for "insurgent":
(joint) Member of a political party who rebels against established leadership. (JP 1-02)
www.liberalsagainstterrorism.com/wiki/index.php/Counterinsurgency_Operations/Glossary
Someone who rises against Constituted Authority, a Rebel . The Active or Open Hostility to any Constituted Authority is called Insurrection
users.skynet.be/jeeper/Terms%20I.html
a person who takes part in an armed rebellion against the constituted authority (especially in the hope of improving conditions)
guerrilla: a member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment
in opposition to a civil authority or government
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn
An insurgency is an armed rebellion by any irregular armed force that rises up against an established authority, government, or administration. Those carrying out an insurgency are “insurgents”. Insurgents conduct sabotage and harassment. Insurgents usually are in opposition to a civil authority or government primarily in the hope of improving their condition.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Insurgent
Now, most of these definitions require some level of organization or planning. They also require a strategic purpose or goal. The attacks in Iraq simply don't have a strategic purpose.
Insurgencies differ from terrorism in that the primary attacks of insurgents are military, while the primary attacks of terrorists are civilians. Terrorism has the goal of frightening the public against action against the terrorists. This is why terrorists strike in busses, in malls, in synagogues and mosques, in crowded shopping center.
The intent of the media in labelling the actions "insurgency" is clear. While we, as Americans, may have a short memory, the image of the twin towers crashing to the ground is an image that is, and will be, indelibly etched in our minds until we no longer draw breath. On that day, and on the days that followed, we almost unilaterally resolved to fight terrorism wherever it rears its ugly head.
So by sanitizing it, by giving it a more appealing name, the MSM can rally public opinion AGAINST the actions of our troops. By casting Mohammed as Che Guevara, or a similarly enigmatic, idealistic crusader against oppression, our troops become villains, and their cause, evil. When the mask is removed and these monsters revealed for what they are, however, we cannot rally such public sentiment.
Our MSM has become wholly irresponsible in its sensationalist reporting and shameful tactics. The labelling of terrorists as "insurgents" is a prime example, and one that we as Americans should be ashamed of for tolerating. Let's start calling these villains what they really are and STOP buying the media's attempts to cast them as heroes.