[Infowarrior] - U.K. ends use of phrase 'war on terror'

[Richard Forno]

U.K. ends use of phrase 'war on terror'
Expression makes militants feel too important, minister says
The Associated Press
Updated: 9:28 a.m. ET April 16, 2007

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18133506/

LONDON - The British government has stopped using the phrase ³war on terror²
to refer to the struggle against political and religious violence, according
to a Cabinet minister¹s prepared remarks for a Monday speech.

International Development Secretary Hilary Benn, a rising star of the
governing Labour Party, says in a speech prepared for delivery in New York
that the expression popularized by President Bush after the Sept. 11 attacks
strengthens terrorists by making them feel part of a bigger struggle.

Extracts from Benn¹s speech at New York University¹s Center on International
Cooperation were released by his office.

³We do not use the phrase 'war on terror' because we can¹t win by military
means alone, and because this isn¹t us against one organized enemy with a
clear identity and a coherent set of objectives,² Benn said.

³It is the vast majority of the people in the world ‹ of all nationalities
and faiths ‹ against a small number of loose, shifting and disparate groups
who have relatively little in common apart from their identification with
others who share their distorted view of the world and their idea of being
part of something bigger.²

Prime Minister Tony Blair¹s official spokesman said he was unsure when Blair
had last used the phrase.

³We all use our own phraseology, and we talk about terrorism, we talk about
the fight against terrorism, but we also talk about trying to find political
solutions to political problems,² he said on condition of anonymity, in line
with government policy.

According to the advance text, Benn urged Americans to use the ³soft power²
of values and ideas as well as military strength to defeat extremism.

Benn¹s comments were at least partly directed at his own Labour Party, which
is uneasy about Blair¹s close alliance with Bush and overwhelmingly opposed
to Britain¹s participation in the Iraq war.

Benn currently is the bookies¹ favorite to become Labour¹s deputy leader in
a party election once Blair steps down as premier later this year.
© 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18133506/