The main theme of our foreign policy has been a global war on terrorism. But there are serious problems with the idea of a war on terror, much less making that the theme for foreign policy. For example, Britain has recently told its officials not to use the words "war on terrorism." Americans have a rhetorical tradition of declaring war on abstract nouns like drugs and poverty, but the British have focused on concrete opponents. The basic British concern lies in a different analysis of the problem. When interrogating arrested terrorists, British officials have found a common thread. Al Qaeda and affiliated groups use a simple yet effective narrative to recruit young Muslims to cross the line into violence. While extreme religious beliefs, diverse local conditions, or issues like Palestine or Kashmir can create a sense of grievance, it is the language of war and a narrative of battle that gives recruits a cult-like sense of status and larger meaning that leads to action.
Al Qaeda has been extremely adept at focusing on communications. It’s learned how to use modern media and the internet very effectively and its potential recruits are told that Islam is under attack from the West, and it is the personal responsibility of each Muslim to fight to protect the worldwide Muslim community. This extreme version of the duty of "Jihad" or struggle is reinforced by videos and internet websites that show Muslims being killed in Chechnya, Iraq, Kashmir, and Lebanon. This grotesque message uses the language of religion as justification, but its real dynamic is like an ideology that seeks to harness the energy from a great variety of grievances. And what British officials concluded is that when we use the same vocabulary of a war on terrorism, we essentially are falling into their trap. They don’t hear it as war on terrorism, they hear it as a war on Islam. And the vocabulary that we use simply reinforces al Qaeda’s narrative and helps their recruiting efforts.
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