Dr. J Ferguson
University of Nevada, Reno
Spring 2018 10M18
JC Langelle
A Derivative and Precursor, "War Against Terrorism"
In Thursday's Anthropology 281 lecture, while discussing words and expressions that have either made a comeback, or have vague meaning, a classmate brought up "war on terror," as if to allude to its recent emphasis since the Twin Towers attacks in 2001. The classmate was quick to point out that the US government has used this phrase as an excuse to bomb, invade or occupy anywhere in the world where a threat may be perceived. There was also an allusion that the current string of US presidents, possibly since Ronald Reagan, somehow had or have a monopoly on the phrase. A brief history of the expression is now in order to set the record straight as to its origin, at least through the last century.
Gangland Chicago of the 1930's had no shortage of "terrorists" as reported in the Jacksonville (IL) Daily Journal; dated Sept 22, 1932. Note that crime boss Al Capone and the derivative "War Against Terrorism" are mentioned on the same page, probably by no coincidence.
In 1952, the British were fighting communists in a "war against terrorism" in Malaya. Naturally, the United States could hardly wait to lend a hand to assist in ridding the world of terrorists.
Next, and once again, the battleground for the fight shifts, this time to the Algerian War for Independence in 1956.
One of the last references to the derivative appears in Venezuela, with a local by the name of Fidel Castro as the instigator. The old expression that "the communists, they're everywhere" would soon be replaced by "the terrorists, they're everywhere."
But the final say on who to fight, how to fight and what to call it, came from the Israeli Defense Minister in 1974, following an attack on a village by the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Shimon Peres put a new spin on the already redundant phrase and a brand new war began. The headline misquotes Peres but the quotation in the third to the last paragraph clearly gives birth to the new phrase "war on terror."
Peres' other quote about hunting them down in all corners of the land is an early and eerily reminiscent relative of "W"'s line about "they have no place under the sun" to hide. Not to be outgunned by the Israeli Defense Minister's rhetoric, the PLO boss Yasser Arafat steals headlines that also reference the war.
By 1974, the "war on terror," having been born far away on the streets of Chicago, had now reached full maturity where it remains to this day, the Middle East. The US presidents stand in a long line of famous people who have nurtured the phrase from its early inception to its current use, where even students in an introductory linguistic anthropology class search to find a place for it in context with global events.
Thank you, classmates, for bringing this matter to my attention. JCL.