What is the difference between a terrorist and an insurgent?

Answer 1

How kooky the con is who's deciding.

Answer 2

It's not the side you're on.Please don't oversimplify this.An insurgent is someone fighting to liberate his country from a foreign occupier.A terrorist can be an insurgent but an insurgent doesn't have to be a terrorist although every occupying force will always call all insurgents terrorists.An insurgent who isn't a terrorist will only attack military targets.The creeps in Iraq are clearly terrorists seeing they attack Iraqi's with the evil intent to terrorize them but also to escalate or start a civil war.They have no respect for any human life

Answer 3

English is a great language if you bother to understand it. Its very specific offering words that give different shades of meaning. BUT - in the case of terrorist and insurgent they are totally different

A terrorist is any unlawful combatant who attacks easy targets with little military value but huge media appeal such as civilian shopping areas. They're goal is to wear down their enemy by making their policy unpopular.

An Insurgent is also an unlawful combatant (usu a foreigner) engaged in insurrection or in other words seeks to overthrow the legitimate government.
Insurrection unlike invasion is not recognized under international law, so we were not insurgents when we invaded Iraq, but now the Iranian and Syrian terrorists are insurgents, I guess because they have not officially declared war. We and the Brits are now counter-insurgents

So not all terrorists are insurgents and not all insurgents are terrorists

Answer 4

A terrorist is someone who uses violence to terrorize a person, a people or a country, to get what he wants.

An insurgent is a freedom fighter fighting for an ideal which used to represent his country, but now sees it suppressed under oppression and ignorance from the occupying army.

Of course, Bush II claims they are "terrorists". But at one time, another King George labeled the revolting colonialists in a much younger America as "terrorists" as well.

Answer 5

We all know what a Terrorist is. The word insurgent is basically what they call Iraqi freedom fighters. Since the term "Freedom Fighter" will not gain any support for the Bush admin here in the US they call them insurgents. Just like the POWs we captured which we call "illegal combatants" so that we wont have to abide by international laws. By doing this we get to torture them, subject them to devious sexual acts, strip them of any rights we would otherwise give any human being, and of course kill them. Even terrorists get their day in court but by creating these new terms ("insurgent" and "illegal combatant") we get to do anything we want.

There is a lesson to be learned here: If you don't like a situation you're in, hit the dictionary and start renaming everything to suit your purposes.

Smart Terminology = Winning Public Support

Answer 6

Sometimes they can be the same thing. In terms of the way the words are used regarding Iraq, an insurgent is an Iraqi who is violently fighting the political structure for political purpose that is specific to Iraq; whereas a terrorist is an outsider, a non-Iraqi who is violently exploiting the situation for non-Iraqi ends.

But in the end, since both insurgents and terrorists in Iraq are killing civilians, they are both terrorists.

Doesn't mean they want the same things, though.

That's my take on it.

[to Treving] Fair enough, but you got it backwards.

Answer 7

An insurgent is a word that the dictionary defines as one in an occupied land whom does not wish to be occupied.

Our liberally-biased media uses the word "insurgent" instead of "terrorist" because it doesn't want to prove itself wrong or admit that there are sectarian and islamic extremists (terrorists) pouring in from Iran and Syria.

The majority of Iraqi people are neither insurgents nor terrorists.

But don't let facts get in the way of some good old fashioned liberal lies Those sell newspapers, you know !

Answer 8

Terrorist: Someone who uses violence to create chaos and instill fear in others, usually motivated by political or religious beliefs.

Insurgent: Someone who rises up in revolt against a dominant presence.

Truthfully, in Iraq I don't think there are many insurgents left. I think the insurgents initially were the leftover Saddam loyalists or people revolting against the American occupation.

Now I think most of the violence is either terrorist (reconstitution of Al Quaida & Jihad ) or inter-religious attacks between Sunni v. Shia. However, I wouldn't be surprised if it turns out many of the attacks against Sunni & Shia groups were done by Al Quaida as acts of terrorism indirectly against the US.

In other words; Al Quaida attacks Sunni & Shia groups to create chaos, disruption and fear and also serves to exhaust American resources

This situation is such a horrific mess. Thank you, President Charles in Charge. You should be locked up in Abu Gharib for all the atrocities you have caused.

Answer 9

Depends where you live.

In the US, an iraqi fighting against another country on its land is a terrorist. An iraqi fighting against iraqis is an insurgent.

In the us, an american fighting the british occupiers, is a hero.

Some people are sick in the head, and blow up innocent people. They are terrorists. A person who fights those who come into thier countries with guns are not terrorists or insurgents. If the USSR had come into NYC in the 80's i would have been making bombs, shooting at them, and trying to get them to leave.

They are just trying to do whats right, or in some cases, trying to gain more power.

Answer 10

Insurgent is an Iraqi fighting in a civil war to gain control of their country, not a terrorist!

So you noticed they changed their names. Good for you!

Answer 11

Terrorists kill men, woman and children, and don't care. They are the car bombers and suicide bombers who attack at the market, Mosque or where ever there is targets of opportunity.

Insurgents are those people, mainly from other countries, there to attack the military.

In Nam, we called them VC. The NVA regulars were the main ones who " made examples" of people who helped the US.

I have said it before and will say it again. If we didn't have them busy over there, they would be doing their damage over here. You can walk across the border just about any where and can, with the right ingredients found locally, do the same damage they do in Iraq, to our people in the Malls, grocery stores, theaters and parks.

Would you rather fight them here, or fight them there????