Language Log: Doublespeak and the War on Terror

A briefing paper entitled
Doublespeak and the War on Terrorism
by
Timothy LynchCato Institute seems to be getting
belated attention. It appeared in September, but this
AP report

by Calvin Woodward came out today. The briefing paper addresses the attempt of the
Bush Administration
to make more palatable its violations of civil liberties by using doublespeak,
e.g. dubbing “warrants” “national security letters” in the hope
that the courts will be fooled into thinking that judicial oversight is not required,
or describing the suicide attempts of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay
(referred to by the Bush Administration as “detainees”, as if they were witnesses to a
traffic accident asked by the police to remain until they could be interviewed)
as “self-injurious behavior incidents”.

of the