The "War on Terror" needs a change in vocabulary

Philip Stephens, a columnist for the daily, analyses the strategy behind the Gordon Brown government's change to the vocabulary used by Tony Blair. "Britain's new prime minister is eschewing talk of 'a war on terror'. The attempted bombings in London and Glasgow have also seen Gordon Brown's government avoid references to 'Islamist terrorists'. Instead, ministers have denounced the attacks as acts of criminality. ... the 'war on terror' catchline has seemed to validate the jihadi claim of a clash of civilisations between Islam and the west. That in turn assists al-Qaeda and its affiliates in drawing the myriad conflicts in the Middle East into a single narrative of western oppression. ... Above all the west needs to differentiate between al-Qaeda's brand of irreconcilable extremism and the many other grievances, conflicts and stand-offs that fuel violence in the Muslim worlds."

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