Media War of Words on Terrorism
by James Hirsen
Posted Aug 15, 2006

President Bush recently demonstrated that the choice of words can set the tone and mood of the nation.

It was the first time that in describing the nation’s fight against terrorism the president modified his prior rhetoric and clearly stated that what we are engaged in is a “war with Islamic fascists who will use any means to destroy those who love freedom [and] to hurt our nation.”

Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum has been ahead of the curve when it comes to the vocabulary of war. In a July 2006 speech at the National Press Club, Santorum examined President Bush’s penchant for use of the phrase “war on terror.”

“Some say we're fighting a war on terror,” Santorum said. “That's like saying World War II was a war on blitzkrieg. Terror, like blitzkrieg, is a tactic of war used by our enemy; it is not the enemy. … In World War II, we fought Nazism and Japanese imperialism. Today we are fighting against Islamic fascism.” the rest