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• Britain drops “war on terror” phrase
• Sadr Takes His Marbles Home
• Sadr Plays His Last Political Card
• Department of Appeasement and Surrender
• Gaza Militant Group Says It Killed BBC Reporter

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Britain drops “war on terror” phrase
Bryan Preston

First, the Democrats. Now, the governing British Labour Party.

Cabinet minister Hilary Benn has declared that Britain will no longer use George Bush’s phrase “war on terror”.

Calling the war we’re in the “war on terror” has always been a bit clumsy and imprecise. But after 5 years of it, everyone knows what it means. Or, not.

“By letting them feel part of something bigger, we give them strength,” he said. He argued that it gave Islamic extremists — especially smaller fringe groups — a sense of “shared identity” that contradicted the reality of their disparate campaigns.

The terrorists’ disparate campaigns do have a common goal: Jihad. Jihad against the infidels is the motivation that drives the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah, al Qaeda, Fatah, the Taliban, etc. It’s the ideological basis of Iran’s Islamic Revolution and also fuels Moqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army. So in that sense, “war on terror” is accurate. Or it would be, if we were actually taking all of those groups on. Which we’re not.

Still, if the British insist on dropping the “war on terror,” they could at least have picked a better setting to announce it:

In an advance text of a speech he is giving in New York, he confirmed for the first time that ministers and UK civil servants have decided to stop using the term.

It’s revolting and not the behavoir of an ally to make that announcement in New York. They ought to rethink both the decision and the venue. Or, in the case of Mr. Benn, he just ought to think. He misunderstands the war, whatever phrase you want to use to describe it. ...

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Sadr Takes His Marbles Home
John Hinderaker

Or maybe to Iran. This is good news, I think. "Iraqi Cleric's Allies Quit Cabinet":

Cabinet ministers loyal to the radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr resigned on Monday to protest the prime minister's refusal to set a timetable for an American withdrawal, raising the prospect that the Mahdi Army militia could return to the streets of Baghdad.

The AP claims that this departure "deals a significant blow to the U.S.-backed leader [Maliki]," but I think that's dead wrong. Neither Maliki nor anyone else has taken seriously the idea that Sadr and his "army" are supportive of Iraq's government. And the fact that Muqtada's minions have been serving in Iraq's government is constantly used as evidence that the government is hopelessly compromised, can't possibly go after the militias effectively, etc. So I think it's a good thing for those ministers to walk out. It may also help allay the fears of many Sunnis that the government, in which they will probably always be a minority, could be a creature of the Shia militias.

Then there's the matter of the Mahdi Army "returning to the streets." Wouldn't that also be good? There is a reason why the Mahdi "Army's" strategy when the surge started was to melt away and, in some cases, hide in Iran. I'd like to see them emerge from the shadows rather than try to wait us out, but I don't think it's going to happen.

Finally, there's this: ...

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Sadr Plays His Last Political Card
Ed Morrissey

Moqtada al-Sadr has played his final political card in Iraq by withdrawing his ministers from the Cabinet of Nouri al-Maliki. The move puts pressure on Maliki to find other factions to support his majority, and so far, Maliki has refused to buckle to demands for a timetable for the withdrawal of American troops:

The head of Moqtada Sadr's Iraqi parliament bloc says the radical cleric has ordered his ministers to withdraw from the cabinet.

Mr Sadr's bloc, which has six cabinet ministers, is trying to press Prime Minister Nouri Maliki to set a timetable for a US troop withdrawal.

Mr Maliki has refused, saying a pullout depends on conditions on the ground.

Analysts say Mr Sadr holds great power among Iraq's Shia majority, but the unity government is likely to survive.

If Maliki survives the withdrawal of Sadr's support, Sadr is finished politically. He drew only middling crowds in Najaf for his exhortation for the removal of American troops -- about 15,000 in what should be his power base. His failure to appear at the rally, or indeed in Iraq for the past three months, has apparently eroded his influence both among Shi'ites and on the government. A failure to bring down Maliki will marginalize his extremism and strengthen Maliki among moderates. ...

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Department of Appeasement and Surrender
Michelle Malkin

Tigerhawk takes a closer look at the Democrats' legislative proposal to create a "Department of Peace and Nonviolence."

Jim Hoft nominates Cindy Sheehan to head the PAND. ...

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Gaza Militant Group Says It Killed BBC Reporter
By Isabel Kershner (Hat tip: Michelle Malkin)

JERUSALEM, April 15 — A previously unknown group in Gaza sent a statement to news organizations on Sunday claiming that it had killed Alan Johnston, the BBC correspondent who was kidnapped in Gaza City on March 12. The BBC said it was aware of the reports and deeply concerned, but emphasized that there was no independent verification of the claim, which it was treating as rumor.

The group, calling itself the Tawhid and Jihad Brigades, first sent an e-mail message with the claim to a journalist at the Palestinian Ramattan news agency in Gaza. The message said that the group held the British government, the Palestinian government and the Palestinian presidency responsible for the death, and said that its demands for the release of Palestinian prisoners inside Israel had not been met.

But BBC executives said only a few days ago that those holding Mr. Johnston, 44, had made no clear demands. At a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah on Thursday that marked a month since the abduction, Mark Thompson, a BBC official, said he had been told by the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, that there was “credible evidence” that Mr. Johnston was safe and well.

More than a dozen foreign journalists and aid workers have been abducted in Gaza in the past year, but all were released unharmed, usually within hours or days. ...

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Yesterday's roundup:

• 2007.04.15 Dem Perfidy // Islamism Delenda Est Roundup
  • New Cabinet Level Departments Contemplated By Dems
  • Denying 'Hot Pursuit' In Waziristan
  • Cheney: Dems will blink
  • Support is More Than Words
  • Dawn’s Early Light …
  • "No Plan B" for a reason
  • Report: Thousands of Iraqi Shiites training for war in Iranian camp
  • Sunni Factions Split With Al-Qaeda Group
  • Good news: Whole damned Middle East set to go nuclear
  • Eye on Iran, Rivals Pursuing Nuclear Power