The British ban “War on Terror:” Hooray!
Cats: banned words|Keen GT readers will be pleased to hear that British Prime Minister Tony Blair has heeded advice offered by this typist.
The term “War on Terror” will no longer be used by the British, according to International Development Secretary Hilary Benn who spoke at the Center on International Cooperation in New York. You may recall that The Gifted Typist banned this term in November.
According to Mr. Benn: “In the U.K., we do not use the phrase ‘war on terror’ because we can’t win by military means alone and because this isn’t us against one organized enemy with a clear identity and a coherent set of objectives.”
The phrase, still deployed President Bush, is now regarded as vague and simplistic by the British. Could this be the beginning of the end? Or the end of the beginning?
April 17th, 2007 at 11:45 am
It is worrying to think that maybe they have only just worked out that they can’t win by military means alone, and that there isn’t one identifiable military target … Duuuuuuuh!!!! Let’s hope not!!
Apply the same intellectual rigour to say .. hospitals.
Overloading the NHS with managers and underpaying and reducing numbers support staff and nurses will degrade the quality of health care.
Mmmmmmmmmmmm!
Education? The environment! Agriculture?!
On reflection …. just plain ‘worrying’ fits the bill!!
April 17th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
You said it Togs. It’s a bit like overloading an under staffed sm. Biz board with directors
April 17th, 2007 at 9:51 pm
Easy on the acronyms folks. Or is this a tactic to lower bandwidth?!
I say good for the U.K. It may be a smoke screen, but it’s a departure from the new status quo. Whatever it is it’s better than what was.
Let’s be positive, keep a stiff upper lip.
April 18th, 2007 at 2:50 am
Good to see you back again dick. For a minute I thought you’d run off and got yourself an new job and abandoned your position as GT Chief Forestry Correspondent.