"This is the man (John Kerry) who wants to be the Commander in Chief of our U.S. Armed Forces? U.S. forces armed with what? Spitballs?" --- Zell Miller (D-GA.)
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jamie Watts" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Friday, September 10, 2004 12:18 PM Subject: Fwd: [antimuslimgroup] Avoiding the T-Word > > --- [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED], > > [EMAIL PROTECTED], > > [EMAIL PROTECTED], > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > CC: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Date: Fri, 10 Sep 2004 00:02:55 -0500 > > Subject: [antimuslimgroup] Avoiding the T-Word > > > > Avoiding the T-word > > Daniel Pipes > > THE JERUSALEM POST > > Sep. 7, 2004 > > > > "I know it when I see it" was the famous response by > > a US Supreme Court > > justice to the vexed problem of defining > > pornography. Terrorism may be > > no less difficult to define, but the wanton killing > > of schoolchildren, > > of mourners at a funeral, or workers at their desks > > in skyscrapers > > surely fits the know-it-when-I-see-it definition. > > > > The media, however, generally shies away from the > > word terrorist, > > preferring euphemisms. Take the assault that led to > > the deaths of some > > 400 people, many of them children, in Beslan, > > Russia, on Sept. 3. > > Journalists have been deep into their thesauruses, > > finding at least 20 > > euphemisms for terrorists: > > > > * Assailants - America's National Public Radio. > > * Attackers - the Economist. > > * Bombers - The Guardian. > > * Captors - the Associated Press. > > * Commandos - Agence France-Presse refers to the > > terrorists both as > > "membres du commando" and "commando." > > * Criminals - London's the Times. > > * Extremists - United Press International. > > * Fighters - The Washington Post. > > * Group - the Australian. > > * Guerrillas: in a New York Post editorial. > > * Gunmen - Reuters. > > * Hostage-takers - the Los Angeles Times. * > > Insurgents - in a New York > > Times headline. > > * Kidnappers - London's The Observer. > > * Militants - the Chicago Tribune. > > * Perpetrators - The New York Times. > > * Radicals - the BBC. > > * Rebels - in a Sydney Morning Herald headline. > > * Separatists - The Daily Telegraph. > > And my favorite: > > * Activists - the Pakistan Times. > > > > The origins of this unwillingness to name terrorists > > seems to lie in the > > Arab-Israeli conflict, prompted by an odd > > combination of media sympathy > > for the Palestinians and intimidation by them. The > > sympathy is well > > known; the intimidation less so. Reuters Nidal > > al-Mughrabi made the > > latter explicit in advice for fellow reporters in > > Gaza to avoid trouble, > > where one tip reads: "Never use the word terrorist > > or terrorism in > > describing Palestinian gunmen and militants; people > > consider them heroes > > of the conflict." > > > > The reluctance to call terrorists by their rightful > > name can reach > > absurd lengths of inaccuracy and apologetics. For > > example, National > > Public Radio's Morning Edition announced on April 1, > > 2004, that "Israeli > > troops have arrested 12 men they say were wanted > > militants." But CAMERA, > > the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting > > in America, pointed > > out the inaccuracy here and NPR issued an on-air > > correction on April 26: > > "Israeli military officials were quoted as saying > > they had arrested 12 > > men who were 'wanted militants.' But the actual > > phrase used by the > > Israeli military was 'wanted terrorists.'" > > (At least NPR corrected itself. When the Los Angeles > > Times made the same > > error in its April 24 issue, writing that "Israel > > staged a series of > > raids in the West Bank that the army described as > > hunts for wanted > > Palestinian militants," its editors refused CAMERA's > > request for a > > correction on the grounds that its change in > > terminology did not occur > > in a direct quotation.) > > > > Metro, a Dutch paper, ran a picture on May 3, 2004, > > of two gloved hands > > belonging to a person taking fingerprints off a dead > > terrorist. The > > caption read: "An Israeli police officer takes > > fingerprints of a dead > > Palestinian. He is one of the victims (slachtoffers) > > who fell in the > > Gaza strip yesterday." One of the victims! > > > > Euphemistic usage then spread from the Arab-Israeli > > conflict to other > > theaters. As terrorism picked up in Saudi Arabia > > such media as The Times > > (London) and the Associated Press began routinely > > using militants in > > reference to Saudi terrorists. Reuters uses it with > > reference to Kashmir > > and Algeria. > > > > Thus has militants become the media's default term > > for terrorists. > > > > These self-imposed language limitations sometimes > > cause journalists to > > tie themselves into knots. In reporting the murder > > of one of its own > > cameraman, the BBC - which normally avoids the word > > terrorist - > > found itself using that term. In another instance, > > the search engine on > > the BBC website includes the word terrorist but the > > page linked to has > > had that word expurgated. > > > > Politically-correct news organizations undermine > > their credibility with > > such subterfuges. How can one trust what one reads, > > hears, or sees when > > the self-evident fact of terrorism is being > > semi-denied? > > > > Worse, the multiple euphemisms for terrorist > > obstruct a clear > > understanding of the violent threats confronting the > > civilized world. It > > is bad enough that only one of five articles > > discussing the Beslan > > atrocity mentions its Islamist origins; worse is the > > miasma of words > > that insulates the public from the evil of > > terrorism. > > -------------- > > The writer (www.DanielPipes.org) is director of the > > Middle East Forum > > and author of Miniatures. > > This article can also be read at: > > > http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1094528406202&p=1006953079865 > > > > > > > > > ===== > "We will never forgive. Never forget. Never excuse." -- Actor Ron Silver addressing the RNC; Aug. 30, 2004 > > > > __________________________________ > Do you Yahoo!? > New and Improved Yahoo! 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