WORDS
An Insurgent is a person who takes part in an armed rebellion against a constituted authority. This can include any irregular armed force that rises up against an enforced or established authority, government, or administration. Insurgents conduct sabotage and harassment. Insurgents usually are in opposition to a civil authority or government primarily in the hope of improving their condition.
The term is inherently political and is difficult to use without taking a political position. When used by an authority under threat, insurgent infers an illegitimacy of cause upon those rising up. Whereas those rising up will see the authority itself as being illegitimate. In cases of rebellions, it refers to those who are not part of the decision-making entity that has the ability to make laws. For example, "the congress has the authority to pass laws to stop the insurgency" vs "the police have the power to arrest insurgents". Insurgents do not respect the established authority.
In current use an insurgent is distinct from a terrorist as in "under threat from insurgents and terrorists". Insurgent has come into popular use during 2003 through its use by western politicians and mainstream media to describe those in resistance to the coalition in Iraq
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Terrorism refers to the use of violence against noncombatants for the purpose of achieving a political, religious or socio-economic goal. Terrorist acts can be carried out by individuals or groups, and are sometimes sponsored by governments as an alternative to an open declaration of war.
Title 22 of the United States Code, Section 2656f(d) defines terrorism as: "premeditated, politically motivated violence perpetrated against noncombatant targets by subnational groups or clandestine agents, usually intended to influence an audience.
The use of the terms terrorism and terrorist is politically weighted, as these terms (and historically, other terms like them) are often used in propaganda to drum up support in opposition to the designated "terrorists."
Governments that support the use of violence against civilians will tend to dissociate themselves from the term, and will instead use neutral or positive terms to describe combatants they approve of – such as freedom fighters, patriots, paramilitaries, militants, comrades or activists, all of which can be ambiguous.
INSURGENT
Pronunciation: in'surjunt
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| 1. [n] a member of an irregular armed force that fights a stronger force by sabotage and harassment
TERRORISM
Pronunciation: 'teru`rizum
[n] the systematic use of violence as a means to intimidate or coerce societies or governments
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Ter"ror*ism\, n. [Cf. F. terrorisme.]
The act of terrorizing, or state of being terrorized; a mode
of government by terror or intimidation. --Jefferson.
