U.K.: USING THE PHRASE "WAR ON TERROR" IS SOOOOOOOOO YESTERDAY IN GREAT BRITAIN...

Britain starts to drop US term 'war on terror’

LONDON: Britain's Foreign Office is urging government officials to stop using the US term "war on terror" amid concerns it angers British Muslims and undermines government aims, a weekly newspaper said Sunday.

The government wants to "avoid reinforcing and giving succour to the terrorists' narrative by using language that, taken out of context, could be counter-productive," a Foreign Office spokesman said.

The Foreign Office has sent the same message to cabinet ministers as well as diplomats and other government representatives around the world, according to the report.

"We tend to emphasize upholding shared values as a means to counter terrorists," the spokesman was quoted as saying.

Many British officials and experts, the weekly said, suspect that Islamist extremists find it easier to recruit followers when western governments speak of a war on terror, by suggesting it is actually a war against Islam.

Gary Hindle, terrorism expert at the Royal United Services Institute in London, hailed the decision to drop the term, though it was not clear whether it was being widely carried out.

"It's about time," Hindle said. "Military terminology is completely counter-productive, merely contributing to isolating communities. This is a very positive move."

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1) Britain starts to drop US term 'war on terror’