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November 29, 2005 by Kami Huyse

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A Rose by Any Other Name

Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had an “epiphany” over the weekend. He thinks the enemy in Iraq shouldn’t be called “insurgents.” Read the article here.

“This is a group of people who don’t merit the word ‘insurgency,’ I think,” Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon news conference today.

The Wikipedia defines an insurgency as:

“…An organized rebellion that engages in deliberate actions to cause the downfall of a governmental authority, through destruction and armed actions… primarily focuses on armed activities of irregular forces ….”

He also didn’t send out a memo to the rest of his staff.

Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who stood beside Rumsfeld, found it impossible to describe the fighting in Iraq without twice using the term “insurgent.”

After the word slipped out the first time, Pace looked sheepishly at Rumsfeld and quipped apologetically, “I have to use the word ‘insurgent’ because I can’t think of a better word right now.”

Without missing a beat, Rumsfeld replied with a wide grin: “Enemies of the legitimate Iraqi government. How’s that?”

That hardly fits in a headline.

No matter your political stripe, this sudden edict to change terminology seldom works with the public.

Sometimes it does, like after Katrina when refugees quickly became evacuees after Jesse Jackson and most of the African American population complained, but that was more of a tipping point in public opinion.

This is just the musing of one guy who seems to be talking out loud – a guy that doesn’t have a dictionary.

At least “refugee” critics had the dictionary on their side.

Tags: Donald Rumsfeld|Word Choice|Image|PR|Public Relations

Filed Under: Featured

About Kami Huyse

Kami Watson Huyse, CEO of Zoetica, is passionate about great communication. Working in Public Relations since 1994, and blogging since 2005, she has seen trends come and go, but one thing has stayed the same – people are looking for ways to authentically connect. She loves to connect with readers, so leave a comment or follow @kamichat on Twitter and connect there.

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