Why call it an "Insurgency"??It looks more like a "Resistance". (Read below)?

Question

During WWII, the French resisted the occupying German forces by going underground and committing sabotage and other violent retaliations, even though the French had the Vichy puppet regime. Yet, they are called "THE FRENCH RESISTANCE", not "THE FRENCH INSURGENCY". Fast forward to Iraq: The Iraqis are resisting an occupying force (whose reasons for invasion are highly dubious), the US of A. So why are they called with contempt: an "Insurgency", when actually they are a "Resistance"??? I guess the occupying force always demonizes those that resist its occupation.

Answer 1

So much public opinion is swayed by a simple "name". Did you know the English labeled George Washington as a terrorist? During Dutch Reagan's reign of terror, the rule was, if they're pro-American they are to be referred to as "FreedomFighters" and if they weren't pro American they were to be called "rebels".

Governments benefit from pigeonholing people into groups then tacking a label on them... this makes it easier to hate them. We can all hate a group but once you attach faces or names. Or even sit down and converse some of these people you find the common ground is much nearer than our government lets on. Remember divide and conquer? That's what governments do their own citizens, it makes it much easier to control us.

Answer 2

Well, the problem always exists.
As someone once said, "One man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter." Look at the freedom fighters of any independent country (including the US of A). When they were fighting the colonist powers, they were labeled "terrorists" or what not. Now they are heroes.

The victor decides the name. A rebellion is crushed, the rebels are calles insurgents. The rebels win, they call themselves revolutionists. So, since, France (with allies) won WWII, they were called the resistance. The Iraqis are not winning, hyence, they are insugents. If they are victorious and push USA out, they are heroes and USA is a villain.
SIMPLE!!

Answer 3

They get the contemptuous title because they aren't fighting for the good of the people, everyone knew the Nazi's were bad and those that supported them were bad too.

What good are the insurgents in Iraq doing? They seem to be blowing up people at random these days.

Answer 4

Perhaps here in the US the media and the government call it insurgency to make it seem like a minority who are against US involvement-where as i'm sure its called resistance if you talk to someone in Iraq.

Answer 5

"He who controls the past, controls the future; and he who controls the present, controls the past." -- George Orwell

It is all about who is in power and what you call it. Since the United States is still the only world power, it gets to decide what to call the resistance in Iraq.