New Orleans "insurgency"

[Benjamin Zimmer]

If you thought "refugee" was a loaded word... how about "insurgency"?

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http://www.armytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-1077495.php
Army Times, Sep 2, 2005
Troops begin combat operations in New Orleans
[...]
While some fight the insurgency in the city, other carry on with rescue
and evacuation operations. Helicopters are still pulling hundreds of
stranded people from rooftops of flooded homes.
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A Google News search also finds references to "insurgents", e.g.:

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http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/news/stories/20050903/localnews/11863.shtml
Gainesville Times, Sep 3, 2005
Local physician headed to New Orleans
Col. Philip Marler served four months in Iraq last year as a member of the
U.S. Army National Guard.
Now, the Gainesville physician is heading to New Orleans to help his
hometown recover from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina.
[...]
The parallels to Iraq are unsettling, Marler said. "In the Army, they're
not referring to these people as looters," he said. "They're calling them
insurgents."
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Further discussion of the Army Times article here:
http://www.boingboing.net/2005/09/03/alcajun_army_times_c.html


--Ben Zimmer