military.com says Brits are dropping "war on terror" hype

[David Farber <dfarber () cs cmu edu>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Jim Warren <jwarren () well com>
Date: December 29, 2007 8:43:13 PM EST
To: Dave Farber <dave () farber net>
Subject: military.com says Brits are dropping "war on terror" hype

The nation where George Orwell wrote his prophetic prose has  
apparently decided that they have milked the "war on terror" slogan  
dry.  Could the US war machine possibly do the same?  (But if Bush,  
Cheney et al gave up that fear-mongering phrase, whatever WOULD they  
use to replace it?!)  --jim


http://www.military.com/NewsContent/0,13319,159067,00.html

Britain Drops 'War on Terror' Label
Daily Mail  |  December 28, 2007
The words "war on terror" will no longer be used by the British  
government to describe attacks on the public, the country's chief  
prosecutor said Dec. 27.

Sir Ken Macdonald said terrorist fanatics were not soldiers fighting a  
war but simply members of an aimless "death cult."

The Director of Public Prosecutions said: 'We resist the language of  
warfare, and I think the government has moved on this. It no longer  
uses this sort of language."

London is not a battlefield, he said.

"The people who were murdered on July 7 were not the victims of war.  
The men who killed them were not soldiers," Macdonald said. "They were  
fantasists, narcissists, murderers and criminals and need to be  
responded to in that way."

His remarks signal a change in emphasis across Whitehall, where the  
"war on terror" language has officially been ditched.

Officials were concerned it could act as a recruiting tool for Al  
Qaeda, which is determined to manufacture a battle between Islam and  
the West.

The term "Islamic terrorist" will also no longer be used. Officials  
believe it is unhelpful because it appears to directly link the  
religion to terrorist atrocities.

In an interview with BBC Radio's World at One, Macdonald made a fresh  
attack on plans to extend beyond 28 days the length of time a terror  
suspect can be held without trial.

He said that the evidence had shown that the existing limit was  
working well and he accused ministers of legislating on the basis of  
'hypotheticals'.


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