British shed ‘war on terror’ language
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The Christian Science Monitor describes how the British have finally decided to stop using the American designation “War on Terror.” The article has some insightful comments on how the three-word phrase “is ill-defined, oversimplistic, and excessively martial and Manichaean” [Manichaean meaning dualistic, dark vs. light]. It also mentions on page two how Americans have used “War” for everything, like “War on Poverty” and “War on Drugs” (both of which have also massively failed). It’s safe to say that most non-American politicians, as well as people in general who pay attention to the manipulation of language and ideas, knew that this was a grossly inappropriate phrase in the first place - how do you “make war” on a feeling or an idea? Doesn’t that just make it stronger? - but it’s only recently that the political climate has allowed this criticism to be raised publicly by an allied state official.
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