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Is the ISIS vs. ISIL name game bordering or rediculous?

ISIS or ISIL?

  • How hard can if be for the White House to ask the media to start saying ISIL?

    Votes: 2 11.1%

  • Everybody call them ISIS. That's what they should be called.

    Votes: 1 5.6%

  • I don't care. ISIL, ISIs, makes no difference to me.

    Votes: 12 66.7%

  • YOU INFIDELS!

    Votes: 3 16.7%
  • Total voters
    18
Smeagol

Smeagol

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I was watching Meet the Press this morning and had to stop myself from laughing in the midst of tragedy while listening to Chuck Todd interview Ben Rhodes on the barbarism in Paris. It was like they were having a school yard contest on what the terror group was going to be called. Todd standing his ground on calling it ISIS and Rhodes digging in his heels refusing to call them anything except ISIL. It was so funny I could hardly pay attention to what they were talking about.

As I think I understand, the Obama administration likes using ISIL because of something having to do with the translation into Arabic that supposedly communicates a greater level of seriousness and grave threat to the Arab world. The difference can be compared to Jewish people hearing the word Nazi vs. hearing the word Axis or blacks in America hearing Klansmen vs. segregationists; although I might be wrong. This, all with the design to encourage support for American intervention against the terror group among Arabs when they hear reporting on them in their native language media.

Do we, the English speaking world need to get on the same page in what we call ISIS...errr...ISIL?
 
Smeagol said:
I was watching Meet the Press this morning and had to stop myself from laughing in the midst of tragedy while listening to Chuck Todd interview Ben Rhodes on the barbarism in Paris. It was like they were having a school yard contest on what the terror group was going to be called. Todd standing his ground on calling it ISIS and Rhodes digging in his heels refusing to call them anything except ISIL. It was so funny I could hardly pay attention to what they were talking about.

As I think I understand, the Obama administration likes using ISIL because of something having to do with the translation into Arabic that supposedly communicates a greater level of seriousness and grave threat to the Arab world. The difference can be compared to Jewish people hearing the word Nazi vs. hearing the word Axis or blacks in America hearing Klansmen vs. segregationists; although I might be wrong. This, all with the design to encourage support for American intervention against the terror group among Arabs when they hear reporting on them in their native language media.

Do we, the English speaking world need to get on the same page in what we call ISIS...errr...ISIL?
Click to expand...

If you're asking if labels matter, then reality says it does, regardless of how we individually believe we are above all that.
 
Smeagol said:
I was watching Meet the Press this morning and had to stop myself from laughing in the midst of tragedy while listening to Chuck Todd interview Ben Rhodes on the barbarism in Paris. It was like they were having a school yard contest on what the terror group was going to be called. Todd standing his ground on calling it ISIS and Rhodes digging in his heels refusing to call them anything except ISIL. It was so funny I could hardly pay attention to what they were talking about.

As I think I understand, the Obama administration likes using ISIL because of something having to do with the translation into Arabic that supposedly communicates a greater level of seriousness and grave threat to the Arab world. The difference can be compared to Jewish people hearing the word Nazi vs. hearing the word Axis or blacks in America hearing Klansmen vs. segregationists; although I might be wrong. This, all with the design to encourage support for American intervention against the terror group among Arabs when they hear reporting on them in their native language media.

Do we, the English speaking world need to get on the same page in what we call ISIS...errr...ISIL?
Click to expand...

It makes no difference. No one is confused when one refers to it as ISIS, ISIL, IS, or Daesh. If one is looking for technicalities, then both ISIS and ISIL might be dated references. The terrorist organization appears to have expanded, to varying extents, beyond Iraq and Syria (IS) or the Levant (IL). IS also has inherent problems, because most Muslims would disagree that "Islamic State" represents them, spiritually, politically, etc.
 
The only times labels mean anything is when identifying objects. Otherwise the only ones that it matters to are those with an agenda. I've often found that those same people are also the most partisan among us.
 
For what it's worth, in official circles, the US Army actually refuses to call them either ISIS, or ISIL. It lends the group too much legitimacy.

They're referred to as "DAESH," or "داعش," which is supposedly a derogatory Iraqi and Syrian term for the organization.
 
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What's really sad is that Archer's spy agency had to drop their name because it was being confused with the Jihadists.

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As long as Obama does not have to say Islamic (or act of war) then all is well. ;)

Obama seems to insist on treating ISI(whatever) as a crime problem by constantly speaking of "bringing them to justice" - that is absolutely crazy because the DOJ handles justice not the DOD. None the less, Obama insists that they (ISIL) are now "contained" and will somehow (eventually?) be "destroyed". Does anyone not see the impossibility of Obama ever destroying world crime?
 
I heard Obamacall them both Daesh and ISIL this morning. I suspect the word play has importance to those who wish to downplay any mainstream Muslim involvement.

Others are just using IS.
 
ISIL ISIS?
At this point, what possible difference could it make?
 
Smeagol said:
Do we, the English speaking world need to get on the same page in what we call ISIS...errr...ISIL?
Click to expand...
The name has changed over time -- ISIL > ISIS > IS

Governments generally do not want to keep in lockstep with a morphing terrorist organization because doing so lends the organization a modicum of legitimacy. Thus the Obama administration prefers ISIL.

Islamic State is the latest revision, but that can lead to a degree of clumsiness in written English ... IS is
 
Smeagol said:
I was watching Meet the Press this morning and had to stop myself from laughing in the midst of tragedy while listening to Chuck Todd interview Ben Rhodes on the barbarism in Paris. It was like they were having a school yard contest on what the terror group was going to be called. Todd standing his ground on calling it ISIS and Rhodes digging in his heels refusing to call them anything except ISIL. It was so funny I could hardly pay attention to what they were talking about.

As I think I understand, the Obama administration likes using ISIL because of something having to do with the translation into Arabic that supposedly communicates a greater level of seriousness and grave threat to the Arab world. The difference can be compared to Jewish people hearing the word Nazi vs. hearing the word Axis or blacks in America hearing Klansmen vs. segregationists; although I might be wrong. This, all with the design to encourage support for American intervention against the terror group among Arabs when they hear reporting on them in their native language media.

Do we, the English speaking world need to get on the same page in what we call ISIS...errr...ISIL?
Click to expand...
Click to expand...



Let's call them Daesh. They don't like that so I plan on using that name a lot when referring to those terrorists.

:lol:
 
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