Defining Terrorism It Shouldn’t be Confused with Insurgency
By Haviland Smith at American Diplomacy
During the presidency of George W. Bush, everything possible has been done to obfuscate and conflate the true meanings of the terms terrorism and insurgency. Preferring the former, largely because of its emotional post-9/11 impact on the American psyche, Bush spokespeople and the president himself consistently have used the terms insurrection and terrorism interchangeably, indiscriminately, and inaccurately…
Much more at American Diplomacy.
Comments (2)
And occupation should not be confused with counter-insurgency.
I still haven't found a good distinction between civil war and insurgency yet.
v/r
Mike
Posted by MikeF![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
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December 23, 2008 9:53 AM
The Author states, "In order to develop successful strategies against insurgency and terrorism, governments have to treat the two totally differently. What will succeed with terrorism is unlikely to succeed with insurgency."
Insurgencies use terrorism to further their political aims (i.e. Chinese, Algerians in 1954-62, MORO, Communist Greeks, etc). Terrorist groups often use insurgency tactics. The success of both groups lay directly with the public, whether negative,neutral, or proactive support. Thus, it is the political issues and public that must be addressed, not trying to draw a line in the sand that says "use A for B and C for D." If COIN or CT were so easy to define and defeat, governments would be more successful in defeating them. Historically, that has not been the case.
Posted by Pod![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://smallwarsjournal.com/blog/nav-commenters.gif)
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December 23, 2008 2:58 PM