Thursday, June 21, 2007

THE BRITS DROPPED THE BUMPER STICKER SLOGAN

The wingnuts went crazy when John Edwards criticized this stupid slogan but I don't recall the Talk Radio Republicans making a fuss about Britain's decision.

Britain stops talk of 'war on terror'
Foreign Office has asked ministers to ditch the phrase
invented by Bush to avoid stirring up tensions within the Islamic world
Jason Burke
Sunday December 10, 2006
The Observer

Cabinet ministers have been told by the Foreign Office to drop the phrase 'war on terror' and other terms seen as liable to anger British Muslims and increase tensions more broadly in the Islamic world.

'It's about time,' said Garry Hindle, terrorism expert at the Royal United Services Institute in London. 'Military terminology is completely counter-productive, merely contributing to isolating communities. This is a very positive move.'

A Foreign Office spokesman said the government wanted to 'avoid reinforcing and giving succour to the terrorists' narrative by using language that, taken out of context, could be counter-productive'. The same message has been sent to British diplomats and official spokespeople around the world.

Whitehall officials believe that militants use a sense of war and crisis and a 'clash of civilisations' to recruit supporters, and thus the use of terms such as 'war', 'war on terror' or 'battle' can be counter-productive.

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