Obituary: "War on Terror"

The BBC News reports that the phrase "global war on terror" has fallen into disuse.

Wait! Did somebody realize what a misleading, moralistic, conflict-encouraging use of language this is and decide to stop using it??? Is this the political "nigger" of the day?

In other news...the world keeps spinning.


From The New York Times:

April 17, 2007
Gates Says Iraqi Cabinet Shake-Up Could Be ‘Positive’

By David S. Cloud

AMMAN, Jordan, March 16 — Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today that the resignation of six ministers loyal to the militant Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr from the Iraqi cabinet could be a “positive development” if their replacements help reduce sectarian tensions.
But Mr. Gates acknowledged that Mr. Sadr’s ulterior motives in withdrawing from the government remain a mystery and said the implications of the move, which has raised fears of intensifying sectarian violence, was uncertain.

American officials have long been pushing Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki of Iraq to appoint more Sunni Arabs in his government to broaden its appeal and reduce support for the insurgency.

“I think that the impact that these resignations have will depend in some measure on who is selected to replace these ministers and whether those vacancies are used in a way that can further advance the reconciliation process,” Mr. Gates told reporters after talks with Jordanian officials here.

He avoided explicitly calling on Mr. Maliki to name Sunnis to replace the departed ministers but said that “broadening representation in the cabinet” was a possible option to advance the reconciliation process.

Iraqi officials have said nonsectarian technocrats would likely be chosen to fill in the six positions, which include overseeing the Health and Transportation Ministries.

Militiamen from the Mahdi Army, which is loyal to Mr. Sadr, have reduced their attacks and avoided confrontations with American troops since a new effort to secure Baghdad began earlier this year. Mr. Sadr has not been seen in public since in months and is believed to have gone to Iran. But the new security strategy has angered some of Mr. Sadr’s followers.

American officials say the Mahdi Army may feel more emboldened to resume attacks and confrontations now that Mr. Sadr’s supporters are no longer part of the government.
Legislators working for Mr. Sadr said he pulled his ministers out of the cabinet because the Maliki government had refused to set a timetable for withdrawing American troops forces from Iraq.

Mr. Gates, on a weeklong trip to the Middle East, met today with King Abdullah, the Jordanian monarch. His visit is aimed in part at urging other Arab governments to make public their support for the shaky Maliki government.

Jordan is one of the few Sunni-dominated governments that has sent high-level officials to Baghdad for talks with Mr. Maliki. Other Sunni-dominated governments in the region have shown less enthusiasm for the Shiite-dominated Maliki government.

Mr. Gates is traveling next to Egypt for talks with President Hosni Mubarak, although his plans to fly to Cairo today were canceled because of a sandstorm that temporarily forced closing of the Egyptian capital’s airports.

“I think that there is not yet confidence in the region that Iraq’s government represents all Iraqis,” Mr. Gates said, adding that he would urge Mr. Mubarak to “encourage his support for the Maliki government and the reconciliation process in Iraq.”

The Bush administration is pushing Mr. Maliki to take steps to carry out reconciliation between Iraq’s bitterly divided ethnic and religious groups.

Mr. Gates said it was very important for the Iraqi Parliament to pass long-delayed legislation apportioning oil revenues and easing policies that excluded former members of Saddam Hussein’s Baath Party from government jobs — measures that the Bush administration wanted approved months ago.