Quote Originally Posted by SteveMetz View Post
In my own writing, I stress that insurgency is a strategy and terrorism is a tactic or method. From this perspective, I don't think it's worth killing too many gray cells (of which I don't have many to spare, and have elected to kill those that I do with single malt scotch) trying to decide whether a given group or given individual is an insurgent or a terrorist. Almost all insurgent movements use terrorism as a tactic. Some groups which do not utilize a strategy of insurgency also use terrorism as a tactic.
To quote my old Mozambican oppo " I full agree, you are deadly right".

In my research reading I am heartly sick of all of the lame definitions of both insurgency and terrorism that abound - some of them are pathologically stupid.

I actually think Tom Mockaitis' treatment of this debate up front on his recent book, The New Terrorism is spot on.