May 29, 2008 The great war against nothing in particular Andy McCarthy wonders, since "war" and "terror" are no good, if it's okay if we call this present conflict the "On" -- "or would that offend all the moderate prepositions?" "War on terror" has always been a stupid and misleading term. But this recommendation to abandon it is even more stupid and misleading. New adventures in Washington's absurd flight from reality: "Security chief decries 'war on terror,'" by Demetri Sevastopulo in the Financial Times, May 28 (thanks to Jed Babbin): The west needs a more comprehensive strategy to counter al-Qaeda propaganda and the US should stop using the term "war on terror", according to a top intelligence official. Charles Allen, the senior intelligence official at the Department of Homeland Security, says the phrase is counter-productive because it creates "animus" in Islamic countries. "[It] has nothing to do with political correctness," Mr Allen said in an interview. "It is interpreted in the Muslim world as a war on Islam and we don't need this."... It has everything to do with political correctness, Mr. Allen. The jihadists say they are fighting an Islamic jihad. Understanding the jihad theology gives us unique insight into the motives and goals of the jihadists. If the Muslim world sees our resistance to these people as a war on Islam, maybe they aren't all that reliable as friends of the United States in the first place. But if they're really upset about this, they ought to be directing their ire against the Muslims who use Islam in this way -- which they are not doing -- instead of against non-Muslims who merely take note of the usage. Michael Chertoff, the Homeland Security secretary, does not agree with suggestions that the phrase is equated with a war on Islam, says Russ Knocke, his spokesman. "We are at war with terrorism, and its underlying ideology -- not Islam -- and we've gone out of our way to make that point," says Mr Knocke. "In truth, war has been declared upon us." http://jihadwatch.org/archives/021221...