With all the talk of war in Irag..what is the difference between and insurgent and a terrorist?

Answer 1

I believe the difference goes beyond mere "words" or political considerations.
An insurgency is a rebellion against an established force, or an occupation. Insurgents direct their attacks, or guerrilla tactics, against this force, or even their officials, in order to achieve their political aims. Think of the French resistance during World War II as an example of this.
Terrorism on the other hand is different because it aim, while maybe political, is reached through a process of "terrorizing" the civilian population into submission, or terrorizing the state, through civilian casualties, into giving in to their demands. Some ETA activities in Spain and the IRA in Ireland are an example of this, though they pale in comparison to what is going on in Iraq.
If an Iraqi group only attacks US forces, or even the Iraqi military, then i believe they should be called an insurgent group. it would not be fair to label them as terrorist just because we don't like them. If, on the other hand, a group seeks to topple the current Iraqi regime, and force the population to submit to its views, by undermining law and order through continuous attacks on civilians, markets, infrastructure and so forth, then this is terrorism, plain and simple.

Answer 2

Big difference... although the White House will try to confuse you into believing that the two are the same...

A terrorist is someone who engages in terrorism. Terrorism is the unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.

An insurgent is someone who rises in revolt against established authority, especially a government.

The big difference? A terrorist will commit unlawful acts, frequently against innocent people. An insurgent's violence is directed directly at the establish authority, so innocent by-standers are not being targeted... George Washington was an insurgent, but certainly not a terrorist...

Answer 3

An insurgent is what liberals call a terrorist. Actually an insurgent would be a person of the country who is fighting against its own government. A terrorist is someone usually from another country who comes into your country and commits an act of brutality.

Answer 4

My definition would be and insurgent is a citizen who may have been a Saddam supporters or others who don't want the elected government.
Just like Saddam got power through assasinations, they want that power.

Terrorists follow certain creeds and kill anyone to bully people into submission. They work in networks not governed by a country but by other sorts of leaders. They travel from one place to antoher to recruit local people to get involved in destroying the social structure of targeted areas to install an Islamic state.

Answer 5

Insurgents are weapons smugglers more than anything else. They are trying to get weapons to their terrorist groups. Maybe not much different than a terrorist, but the name insurgent does have a seperate meaning as in weapon smuggler, and probably funds smuggling as well, maybe drugs too, who knows. Also insurgents are considered spies as well, they are like couriers to tell their groups who's advancing, where they are, when they'll strike, ETC.

Answer 6

An insurgency, or insurrection, is an armed uprising, or revolt against an established civil or political authority. Persons engaging in insurgency are called insurgents, and typically engage in regular or guerrilla combat against the armed forces of the established regime, or conduct sabotage and harassment in the land in order to undermine the government's position as leader, or at least their appearance as such.

Terrorism is a term used to describe violence or other harmful acts committed (or threatened) against those considered innocents by groups or persons for political, nationalist, or religious goals. As a type of unconventional warfare, terrorism means to weaken or supplant existing political landscapes through capitulation, acquiescence, or radicalization, as opposed to subversion or direct military action.

The difference is politics.

Answer 7

First, this question is amazingly complicated. good question with the help of ways. 2d, i'm answering this question outdoors of the social ecosystem to the position those words are getting used. at the same time as, the right purpose of terrorists would nicely be very political. the right purpose of the terrorist act itself is to reason terror. And, terrorists favor to apply the media to their benefit. With terrorists, harmless human beings are straightforward recreation. Insurgents, are a small military kind team of human beings. who's attacks at the on the spot are not finally terror orientated, yet are aimed in course of disabling the conflict purposes of the objective. harmless human beings at the on the spot are not targeted, yet would nicely be seen as collateral damage. ok... yet, those are very uncomplicated definitions; and the definition of those words are nonetheless being debated with the help of scholars. most of the time, the time period "terrorist" is used as authorities propaganda. So, interior the right, at the same time as they do have diverse meanings in as we talk's context; the social ecosystem will dictate how those words are used and utilized.

Answer 8

Basically they're synonyms - the difference is, an insurgent fights for a cause you support, a terrorist fights for a cause you oppose.

Answer 9

seriously defining, an insurgent is a person who joins a group of rebel within their country with the aim of overthrowing the government which becomes unbearable to them; while terrorist is a "rebel without a cause" who might be either a citizen or not of that country involved.

Answer 10

Terrorist is an individual who belongs to another country and operates in the target country with a specific motive of creating panic and terror in the target country. He is motivated and paid.

Insurgent is basically a resident of the country who operated against the policies of a goverment with which his organisation is not satisfied with just to destabalise it so that the residents of that country rise against the legal government