Is it spreading? Time will tell
I have no idea if this represents a sea change in MMPA “thinking” or not, yet. For one thing, I only “watch” Fox, among the MMP “news” channels (too strong a word, really, since I mostly leave it on in another room when I’m working on something else). But the strange turn of events I’ve noticed is this: since Sunday, the word “terrorists” seems much more common in replacement of the disingenuous “insurgents” that was de rigeur before. Now, when thugs attack civilians or non-combatants in Iraq, one is as likely—at least on Fox, it seems—to hear them referred to as terrorists as insurgents.
Interesting. Of course, this could just be my ear picking up on a word that seems out of place in a MMPA account, but I hope the nomenclature is undergoing a change toward reality.