A Small Victory

I can see how that might not always work. "The use of antibacterial germ-terrorists has increased the terrorist of bacteria..."

activist, at least, is going to backfire a few times. "X rights activist". Why include "activist" anyways? Fighter, militant, reistance, sure, but activist...

Granted, it needs some work. But the results as is could be funny in some instances.

Can he come up with a plugin for changing, newsman/Rather to unemployed/Rather?

I'am just saying...

Listened to any Foo Terrorists CDs lately?

Haha.

I'm a lover, not a terrorist!

What's your dad do for a living? He's a fireterrorist.

Bah.

Nevermind.

Typical Bush Republican thinking: if the facts on the ground don't match your preconceived notions, then ignore the facts. Thus, the war in Iraq is a magnificent success, and Iraqis who want the US out become "al qaeda terrorists." What a bunch of idiots.

So, Greg, what would you call people who behead the innocent?

Friends?

Lumping together:
1) Foreign Terrorists,
2) Shiite Iraqis worried America will impose another Sunni Dictator (Allawi)
3) Sunni Rebels terrified of a Shiite-dominated Islamic Theocracy
4) Old-Regime Holdovers hoping to foment anti-American sentiment.

all under the rubric of "terrorist" is simplistic monochromatic thinking and not helpful towards looking at the events on the ground and deciding which factions to support/smash and how to guide the country forward to a theoretical (extremely, at this point) Democracy.

Then again, this Administration seems exceptionally keen on Black/White thinking, so go ahead. Iraq is moving towards Democracy! It's an awesome Victory! Long Live Big Brother!

Greg,

If your 1-4 freedom fighters all use the tactic of killing non-combatants or taking refuge in residential areas, mosques, etc, then they are all terrorists and who cares what their deranged motive is?

Nelson Ascher wrote about this on Europundits.
This sort of thing will most likely become automatic in people's minds. If the media continually call people who shoot kids in the back and behead prisoners on camera "activists" and "militants", sooner or later 'militant' or 'activist' will take on the mental association of people who shoot kids in the back and beheads prisoners on camera. It's too bad for the activists, though. They'll have to pick a new word. I recommend 'annoytivists'.

C'mon, it's Reuters policy to not use the word terrorist - - that's a fact. And I believe that's the premise for the creation of what seems to me to be a tongue-in-cheek plug-in.

Apparently a blanket policy to not use the word terrorist is nuanced thinking in Greg's book.

[sarcasm]I am a terrorist, er...I mean, "middle-eastern activist", and I would like to thank Greg for sticking up for me.[/sarcasm]

You know, sometimes I just call a bunch of people who are annoying, aggravating, inconsiderate, childish, stupid, and even boring by the same word: Assholes.

Seems to me that terrorist is a nice catch-all for those that murder innocents.

But that's me. I see the world in assholes and non-assholes.

Greg: Funny... Iyad Allawi is a Shiite. Perhaps you're confusing him with Iraq's ceremonial president, Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, an influential Sunni from a largely Shi'ite tribe.

Muqtada al-Sadr had made know his desire to create an Iran-like rule-by-clerics Islamic Republic in at least the Shi'ite areas of Iraq. He's the main leader of those Shi'ite "militants", or should I say, "activists"?

And it is rather funny that Sunni rebels afraid of a Shi'ite theocracy be lead by... drumroll a Jordanian!

Meryl Yourish: Be a little more nuance. There are more holes than the arsehole...

Sounds like it will work well to me.

Now when the administration starts babbling about freedom fighters instead we'll get the real news of freedom terrorist trying to dispose the rightfully elected government.

Venezuella comes to mind. Or any number of places where those fighting against the rightful government are called insurgents, militia, or freedom fighters because our administration doesn't play well with the sitting governments of these countries.

Yeah this will work well. Shows how well some of these folks on the right think when they shoot their own propaganda in the balls.