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the language of 'war on terror' « Previous | |Next »
August 18, 2006

Richard N. Haass suggests that we drop the 'war on terror' metaphor:

The first thing to do is to drop the metaphor of a "war on terrorism." Wars are mostly fought with arms on battlefields between soldiers of opposing countries. Wars have beginnings and ends. None of these characteristics apply here. Terrorism can now be carried out with boxcutters and airplanes as easily as with explosives. Office buildings and commuter trains and coffee shops are today's battlefields. There are no uniforms, and often those doing the killing are acting in the name of causes or movements. There is another reason to jettison the martial vocabulary. Terrorism cannot be defeated by arms alone. Other instruments of policy, including intelligence, police work and diplomacy, are likely to play a larger part in any effective policy.

Good advice.

| Posted by Gary Sauer-Thompson at 11:14 PM | | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (1)
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The remains of the World Trade Centre are the birth place of the war on terror in which a range of separate contemporary conflicts (Afdghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, Indonesia) become aspects of a "global struggle against terrorism". Corbis... [Read More]

 
Comments

Comments

There is nothing wrong with "war on terror." The term "war" is used constantly in everyday language to refer to any argument that occurs between two parties, without there even being any bloodshed or use of arms.

The term "war" in the English language is simply not used in the very limited manner that Haass suggests, so to propose only using it in such a manner is asking to limit the meaning of the word itself.

Antonios
is a central plank in the Anglo-American foreign policy discourse and the overall stance of news media routinely embraces the assumption that the USA is at war with terrorism.This holds that events "from Baghdad to Beirut", and Afghanistan, and London, are linked in "a broader struggle between freedom and terror"; that far-flung terrorism is "no coincidence", caused by "a lack of freedom" and that America will stay on the offense against al-Qaida and Islamic fascism.

The "war on terror" motif is fraying is it not, even if the politics of fear remains in place? Some of the threats are not definitive plot, as many never materialized or get past the thought stage. Secondly, terrorism is not an enemy. It cannot be defeated. It's a tactic in a war. It's about as sensible to say that we declare war on night attacks and that we expect we're going to win that war.

What about the "war on drugs" or "war on want", the international charity organisation that predates the "war on terror"?

Obviously, "war on terror", "war on drugs" or "war on want" make no sense literally in a martial sense, but used more metaphorically from the literal root, a meaning is easily ascertained.

The international charity organisation is not saying it will be fighting a real war on want, but will be doing all it can to help limit the problem of want throughout the world.

This is no different to the employment of the phrase "war on terror". When Bush says that the USA is fighting a "war on terror", what he means is that the USA is trying to limit terrorism throughout the world.

The definition of what constitutes terrorism, what are its causes and its justifications, or any other such matter related to the concept of terror itself is another thing entirely, and should be argued on its own merits.

So to say that terrorism in the world is largely negligible, thus rendering the phrase "war on terror" nonsensical or trivial, is allowable.

But a "war on terror", or a "war on x", makes sense in itself and is an expression in common usage in the English language.

Take the following two sentences:

The cat is in the room

and

The tornado is in the room

The second sentence is nonsensical (when talking about real life) because it's impossible, yet the structure of the concept's expression is valid in the English language.

Antonios,
it's a metaphor isn't it, when used so broadly.

have look at this article-- The Conservative War on the War on Drugs. It says that conservatives (meaning classical liberals)

... are tired of seeing resources wasted in a failed war on drugs, others are simply wary of overbearing government and law enforcement agencies. Bill Piper, director of national affairs for the reform-minded Drug Policy Alliance, explains: "At its core, conservatism is supposed to be about free markets, the rule of law, and smaller government -- and you can't have any of those when you have a massive war on drugs."