Friends,
What's in a word? While it is true that a "rose by any other name would
smell as sweet," as a writer, I believe that using the correct words are
important. As George Orwell taught us, it is the difference between truth
and lie, freedom and slavery.
And so, for years I complained about the euphemisms used by leftist
journalists who couldnt bring themselves to write the words Islamic
terrorist when buses and Passover seders blew up, even though that is who
the perpetrators were.
They were called militants, or grieving brothers, or activists. You name
it. Now it seems that the U.S. government is following suit, because
fighting terror seems so politically incorrect these days. A great article
from Susan M. Reyto, a lover of freedom, who survived horrific experiences
in Communist Hungary. Go to the link and leave a comment.
-- Naomi Ragen
Perilous Euphemisms
By: Susanne M. Reyto
FrontPageMagazine.com | Friday, June 19, 2009
Overseas contingency operation. Man caused disaster. Anti-Islamic
activity.
These are the currently required terms by our government, for Global War on
Terror, Terrorism, and Islamic terrorism. I am not only baffled by
these new phrases but have great difficulty remembering them, since the
words don't convey the facts.
The directive for using the proper terminology in official announcements
was not a casual request but part of an official memo from no less than
Janet Napolitano, our Secretary of Homeland Security. This deliberate
obscurantism is frightening.
Many of her contradictory pronouncements invite comparisons to the
manipulations of language in George Orwells 1984. According to her recent
comments on CNN, "Illegal immigration" is not a crime. Of course, anything
illegal is a crime by definition.
Secretary Napolitano now also avoids using the term terrorism, dropping the
terms terror and vulnerability from her prepared remarks delivered to
the House Homeland Security Committee. On another occasion when the
Secretary was asked why she does not talk about terror specifically, she
said terrorism fits into what she calls action directives issued by her
office. These appear to be internal memos, apparently preventing the public
from being properly informed.(The new lexicon could also include current
interpretation for serial killers and serial rapists as man-caused afflictions.)
An official memo from the National Counterterrorism Communication Center
directs the replacement of terrorists with vague words like extremists or
totalitarians. Officials are to refrain from using so-called harsh words
or Arabic words with Islamic consequence. Instead they are to use generic
terms without specific emphasis. Jihad is used by the radicals themselves;
why can't we use it? Going one step further, the government has drafted
official guidelines in the publication. Terminology to Define the
Terrorists: Recommendations from American Muslims, a guide for U.S.
Government Officials. In their infinite wisdom, the government asked
Muslims many of whom may well adhere to the political ideology of
submission under Islam and Sharia Law to assist with the publication.
Language is critical. It shapes our thinking and determines our action. The
enemys perilous intensions cannot be blurred. If we do not name them, we
cannot confront them. If we do not properly describe them we cannot defeat
them. These new expressions mislead the public and confuse our law
enforcement officers. The governments revised phrases minimize the reality
they are intended to convey. Under the Global War on Terror, terrorists
can be held indefinitely. B ut, if we refuse to actually call it war and
call our enemies detainees, they will be treated as regular criminals
benefiting from our legal system. To make matters worse, under the new
global justice initiative, President Obama through the Justice Department
has ordered FBI agents to read Miranda rights to high value detainees
captured and held in U.S. detention facilities in Afghanistan. It seems
that sensitivity to our enemy takes precedence over our security.
President Obama stated in his Cairo speech June 4, 2009, Violent extremists
have exploited these tensions in a small but potent minority of Muslims.
The president also characterized the terrorist attacks as a cycle of
suspicion and discord, rather than hatred and genocide. Small is also a
relative concept. Even if the percentage of radicals is small 10 percent
of 1.5 billion Muslims the impact of 150 million hard core Islamists is
significant. Minimizing jihad against the West and particularly in America
is a grave mistake.
A vast majority of imams preach Islam's goal: world domination. While we
must not call all Muslims terrorists, violence is inherent in Islam, and the
radicals cite the Quran as the foundation for their actions. Prominent
imams preach that there will be no peace until everybody converts and Islam
rules. Sheik Ibrahim Mudeiris declared in a sermon on PA TV on May 13, 2005,
"We have ruled the world before, and by Allah, the day will come when we
will rule the entire world again."
What part of this do we and our government not understand?
Evidently all of it, since the administration is requesting Congress change U.S.
law to permit aid to Hamas in the event that it becomes part of a unified
Palestinian government, although Hamas has a past, present and likely
future as a terrorist organization.
Murderous intentions are hardly confined to Palestine. Kuwaiti professor,
Abdullah Al-Nafisi on Al Jazeera TV declared on February 2 of this year,
"Four pounds of anthrax carried by a fighter through tunnels from Mexico
into the US, are guaranteed to kill 330,000 Americans within a single
hour." The terrorism of 9/11 will be small change in comparison. Apparently
he has dismissed the war American fought to liberate Kuwait from its Arab
"brothers."
In fact, such hatred is not uncommon among Muslims within our own borders.
Dr. Salla Sultan, an Egyptian cleric living in the United States stated on
Al-Nas TV on December 28, 2008, America, which gave Israel everything it
needed in these [Gaza] battles, will suffer economic stagnation, ruin,
destruction and crime, which will surpass what is happening in Gaza. He
then vowed, the U.S. will suffer more deaths than all those killed in this
third Gaza holocaust. This will happen soon. These words were spoken in
America by a man who is trying to become a citizen. Does this not horrify
the public and our leaders? Is this the so-called religion of peace that we
are trying to appease?
Peace, according to Webster's Dictionary, means a state of calm and quiet or
freedom from disturbing thoughts or emotions. For Muslims this means
"cessation of resistance to Islam." Quran 8:38-40 says, O believer. Fight
them until there is no more oppression and until the whole Deen (Islamic
Way of Life) is for Allah alone.
According to this interpretation, Peace can exist when and only
when Islam rules politically and religiously and its principles are the laws
of the land. But, this sharia (Islamic) law is not compatible with our
Constitution, and with our entire way of life.
Words matter. The distorted use of language is a great danger within
America, and well beyond. Author Joe Queenan has joked that, following
Obama's move:
[T]he Taliban announced that it will no longer refer to its favorite method
of murder as beheadings, but will replace it with cephalic attrition.
Flaying, a barbarously exotic style of execution, will now be described as
unsolicited epidermal reconfigurations. Similarly, cutting off captives'
arms will now be referred to as appendage furloughing.
Jokes notwithstanding, the actions remain just as brutal, whether practiced
by jihadists abroad or terrorists at home. Linguistic mixed signals are
naive and reckless in international relations where strength of character
and decisiveness are essential. We must retain our moral integrity, our
precious language, and not compromise our freedom and liberty. Ronald
Reagan in 1984 stated, "We will always remember. We will always be proud. We
will always be prepared, so we may always be free."
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