From here on out could all Dems refer to it as THE OCCUPATION.

[OregonBlue]

That's what it really is since, the U.S. Government never declared war. I'm so tired of us continuing to use the Publican framing.

And, while we're at it, I agree with a post I read here earlier this morning, they aren't detainees, they're prisoners.

And, for that matter, they're not Oil Sharing Agreements, they're Oil Privatization Agreements.

Could we please start our own "framing"?

Please add to this list.

[acmavm]

1. A lot of us already do. Simply because that's what it is. An occupation

occurring from an immoral and illegal invasion.

[OregonBlue]

2. Great, now how do we get our Congresscritters and Senators to make the change?

[acmavm]

6. You mean, how do we get them to tell the truth? That's the million

dollar question right there.

[OregonBlue]

11. It's in their best POLITICAL interest to reframe the debate. That's how we can get them

to tell the truth. Make them understand how it helps them. They are after all, ultimately, interested in getting elected!

[sampsonblk]

3. Amen! nt

[patrice]

4. I've been on-board with that for several weeks. How shall we refer to Oil Law?

Most people know NOTHING about it and it's extremely important to what happens during the Occupation of Iraq. The meme must contain the concept of robbery or stealing or government-taking and yet, like "occupation", not be soooooooo extreme that the Public rejects it out of hand as Leftie bias.

[OregonBlue]

8. Oil privitization agreements.

[patrice]

14. Good One! I'll use that - Thanks! nm

[Hutchewon]

5. We should also refer to the Iraqis as

"Freedom Fighters", "Guerrillas", "Rebels" anything but the loaded word "Insurgents". The lock-step use of that term by the US media was one of the first clues that we were no longer getting news, just government propaganda.

[OregonBlue]

9. Yes, how can Iraqi citizens who are fighting an occuping army be INSURGENTS.

[pampango]

12. Agreed. Those who target American troops are a "resistance".

Those who target Iraqi civilians, however, unless it is very targeted at perceived collaborators, do not earn the title of "resistance fighters." I've got much harsher terms for those who go after shoppers, students, religious processors, kids and parents to make a political point. (I have the same harsh terms for our troops when they do the same thing.)

I read a commentary in our paper this morning that suicide bombers were originally unleashed to accomplish political goals by targeting Jews in Israel, but, now that it is an "accepted" tactic, it kills far more Muslims than it does Jews, still in order to achieve political goals.

[OregonBlue]

13. Yes. Those that target civilians are terrorists. Those that target the

Iraqi government are rebels, those that target American forces are resistance fighters. It's a lot more complex than Al Qaeda and terrorism. Would like to hear more Dems on the usual talk shows bringing this stuff up. It's not black and white, there are lots of shades of gray.

[patrice]

15. I like "the Iraqi Resistance" because it evokes the "French Resistance"

and also because it can also refer to Iraqis who are NOT armed and violent and yet do not want the future of their country determined by Invaders - or perhaps "Iraqi Dissidents" would be better for this group, since the French Resistance was armed and Dangerous.

[pampango]

18. The French resistance was, indeed, armed and dangerous, but

they did not kill French citizens unless they were individually perceived to be collaborators. They did not indiscriminately kill large numbers of French civilians to score political points.

I am no historian, but I thought that the term "French resistance" included civilians who would assist Allied pilots or escaped POW's in getting out of occupied France.

[patrice]

19. Okay, so it should be Iraqi Dissidents?

What with all of the references to Al Qaeda everything in Iraq, I want a way to refer to those Iraqi nationalists who are not violent and do not belong to either the U.S. nor to al Qaeda. Ironic, isn't it, that we need a positive way to refer to nationalism, isn't it?

[eridani]

7. Lynn Woolsey on the John Elliont show last night--

--was very explicit about the term occupation. She said several times that you can't win an occupation. Good for her--let's hope this meme spreads further.

[OregonBlue]

10. Perhaps she could go further and refer to Iraqi fighters as dissidents? Go Lynn!

[eridani]

16. Which ones?

Some are dissidents in the sense of being against the occupation, others are defending their religious sects or attempting to empower them, a few are foreign Islamists.

[PBass]

17. Recommended... (well, kicked anyway... ) NT