Brushing Up On The Latest Euphemisms In The Media's War For Terrorism

In a post back in April, I put together the following lexicon of terrorist euphemisms used by the Media:

Old Term	According to the Media Lexicon
Terrorist	Dissident, Militant, Activist, Freedom Fighter
A call for the destruction of another country	Criticism
Disputed Territories	Occupied Territories
Fire missile	Launch rocket
Gun battle	Protest

The list should be updated:

When terrorists cross into Israeli territory where there is no official war going on and take a soldier prisoner, it is not called a kidnapping. It is called a capture--this would imply a military operation and that there was some state of war between Israel and the PA under Hamas. Of course to follow that argument consistently--that there is a war going on--would give Israel morel leeway in terms of their own operations. And then there is Hezbollah

The newest euphemism is referring to the woman who helped Palestinian terrorists escape by putting themselves between Palestinian terrorists and the IDF as "human shields"--see LA Times

Dozens of Palestinian gunmen holed up in a mosque ringed by Israeli troops and tanks escaped today after the Israelis opened fire toward a group of women who were rushing toward the shrine to serve as human shields.

The very idea of people running to act as human shields seems a bit jarring.

Daniel Freedman, in It Shines For All--the New York Sun blog--notes:

Those women were not innocent bystanders nor human shields caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Human shields implies that they were reluctantly dragged in. They were willing terrorist helpers. They ran to protect terrorists in order that these terrorists could commit more killings. Those women are no different to those who help transport terrorists or those who hide terrorists in their home. They're responsible for any death and destruction the terrorists cause.

But not if they're freedom fighters!

Update: Here's another one (hat tip: LGF), courtesy of AP:

Syria could resort to armed resistance if peace negotiations do not lead to Israel’s return of the Golan Heights, the country’s Information Minister said Sunday. [emphasis added]

So an unprevoked attack on Israel is 'armed resistence'.
Why not--after all, it worked for Hezbollah.

Technorati Tag: Israel and Media Bias and Terrorism.