'[B]y letting them feel part of something big, we give them strength.'

Taking on the President's construction of the 'war on terror' is a pet issue of mine, so I'm always glad when someone of authority joins in. It used to be political suicide to question this, but since the one-two-punch of the Iraq debacle and the Katrina aftermath destroyed the administration's security credibility, it's been much easier.

The latest to do so is Hilary Benn, a high-ranking member of Britain's Labour Party. Benn says the U.K. government intends to stop using the 'war on terror' terminology and construct. Says Benn-

Mr Benn said: "In the UK, we do not use the phrase 'war on terror' because we can't win by military means alone.

"And because this isn't us against one organised enemy with a clear identity and a coherent set of objectives."

It is "the vast majority of the people in the world" against "a small number of loose, shifting and disparate groups who have relatively little in common", he said.

"What these groups want is to force their individual and narrow values on others, without dialogue, without debate, through violence.

"And by letting them feel part of something bigger, we give them strength."

He added that-- like the Cold War-- it really should be seen as "a battle of values and ideas".

I hope his opinions do match those of the U.K. government as a whole. They have been the administration's most vocal ally, and a redirection on their part would be huge on the world stage. Either way, I imagine their political sanity will be restored quicker than our own.