Scrapbook

...But now, there is ululation from Dearborn to Damascus as a muchneeded ally has arrived to assist in the image overhaul...

...So he had to learn the hard way that some stereotypes are well-deserved...

...We need to dispute both the gloomy vision and offer a positive alternative...

...Since when is winning a war a gloomy vision...

...Kerry described the war on terror as "occasionally military" but argued that it is "primarily an intelligence and law enforcement operation...

...Richard Myers, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he "objected to the use of the term 'war on terrorism' before, because . . . if you call it a war, then you think of people in uniform as being the solution...

...In his view, opposing terrorism is far less of a military operation and more of a law enforcement operation...

...Though Burke technically lost his appeal last week, he still won what his lawyer correctly characterized as "a significant practical victory for Mr...

...THE SCRAPBOOK, just to be clear, understands that winning the GWOT will involve more than the application of brute military force...

...And if you think you've heard that language before, you're right...

...Martin is striving to effect global change, building on the foundation of his artistic contributions first as a member of boy-band Menudo, and later with socially conscious lyrics such as "I wanna be your lover, your only Latin lover / We'll go around the world in a day / Don't say no, no / Shake it my way, oh shake your bonbon / Shake your bon-bon / shake your bon-bon...

...The solution, he said, will be "more diplomatic, more economic, more political than it is military"—i.e., not part of my job description...

...Burke and others in his situation...

...Richard Holbrooke, Kerry's senior foreign policy adviser, said: "We're not in a war on terror, in the literal sense...

...It's broader than that...

...Plus which, the Arab Children's Congress doubtless deserves a better celebrity spokesperson than one who once had a runaway smash single called "She Bangs": "Talk to me, tell me your name / You blow me off like it's all the same / You lit a fuse, and now I'm ticking away / Like a bomb...

...From GWOT to GSAVE in just a couple weeks...

...Using a telltale bit of reporter's spackle, the Times notes that the terminological shifts "come at a time" when Bush favorite Karen Hughes assumes her new job as undersecretary of state for public diplomacy —that is, the two things are related in some way the reporter can't be bothered to spell out...

...She told senators that her message to the world would be: "I want to learn more about you and your lives, what you fear, what you dream, what you believe, what you value most...

...Yes, we refer to Puerto Rican singing sensation Ricky Martin—he of the dangerously tight pants and Livin' La Vida Loca fame...

...National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley was similarly "on message": "It is more than just a military war on terror," he said...

...And we're all in favor of learning about what others dream and what they value most...

...Unfair stereotypes have grown so prevalent that a young jihadist can barely board a subway these days without commuters casting accusatory glances at his ticking backpack...

...It sounds for all the world as if the Bush administration wants to fight a more effective, more thoughtful, more strategic, more proactive, and—dare we say it?—more sensitive war on terror...

...Hughes, as it happens, had her confirmation hearings last week...

...It's a global struggle against extremism...

...No doubt, it's been an uphill battle...

...This is self-evident-ly not a great time to shift from a "Global War on Terror" to a "Long Struggle to Portray Americans as Good People Who Don't Hate Muslims and Respect Religions All over the World Even as We Try to Dismantle the Networks of Ideological Extremists Who at the Very Least Disagree With Us and May Want to Do Us Harm...

...But Hughes is hardly alone in thus cavalierly undermining the seriousness of George W. Bush's defining mission...

...Then last week, in a story that gave every sign of being a deliberate leak from the administration, the New York Times reported: The Bush administration is retooling its slogan for the fight against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, pushing the idea that the long-term struggle is as much an ideological battle as a military mission, senior administration and military officials said Monday...

...So what, exactly, does the new slogan mean...

...The English Patient's Day in Court Two months ago in these pages ("The English Patient," May 30), Wesley J. Smith wrote about the plight of Leslie Burke, a 45-year-old Englishman with a progressive neurological disorder who was suing Britain's National Health Service, lest they euthanize him by refusing to provide a feeding tube when he is no longer able to swallow...

...Bush, if you recall, was aghast: "Anyone who thinks we are fighting a metaphor does not understand the enemy we face, and has no idea how to win the war and keep America secure...

...Attending the silver jubilee of the Arab Children's Congress in Jordan, Martin told the assembled Arab youth, "I promise I will become a spokesperson, if you allow me to, a spokesperson on your behalf...

...yeah baby...

...This is what happens when you put a talented public relations professional into a foreign policy job—they redefine the problems of the world as public relations problems...

...Of course, when becoming a spokesperson for an entire people, it's never a bad idea to understand their language, which Martin doesn't...

...Or whatever...

...Ricky's World_ For years, anti-defamation groups have labored to convince mouth-breathing American rustics that Islam is a religion of peace, as opposed to a religion of blowing up infidels...

...All last year the Bush campaign pounded Kerry for minimizing the global war on terror (GWOT, as it's known to national security bureaucrats...

...Senator Kerry has questioned whether the war on terror is really a war at all," said Vice President Dick Cheney at one point, with evident contempt...

...The war on terror is like saying 'the war on poverty.' It's just a metaphor...

...It came from John Kerry last fall...

...In this increasingly utilitarian age, that's no small achievement...

...When he posed for photos at the conference, which is intended to promote peace and cross-cultural understanding, a fan draped a kaffiyeh around him with the Arabic inscription "Jerusalem is Ours...

...While Burke can't be guaranteed he'll continue to receive artificial nutrition and hydration should he lapse into a persistent vegetative state, neither will a doctor be able to hasten his death against Burke's wishes based upon some "futilitarian" calculation that a severely disabled life is not worth living...

...But that was then...

...Good try, Ricky...

...But what we have learned to our horror in recent years is that far too many people dream mostly of murdering us...

...I will defend you and try to get rid of any stereotypes...

...The Burke decision is not ideal, but it does seem to have drawn an important ethical line in the sand...

...Indeed the disturbing thing about this fascination with rebranding the war on terror is that it, if we may say, came at a time when a resurgent Taliban is stepping up its activities in Afghanistan, al Qaeda bombers are running amok in London, and tourist hotels are being blown up in Egypt...

...In recent speeches and news conferences, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and the nation's senior military officer have spoken of "a global struggle against violent extremism" rather than "the global war on terror," which had been the catchphrase of choice...