Posted on 07/12/2004 2:23:00 AM PDT by naturalman1975
AUSTRALIAN researchers are aiming to put an end to the saying "one man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter" by developing a dictionary of terms used to describe terrorism.
Concerned that language differences could hamper the fight against terrorism, the Australian Research Council (ARC) has funded a project investigating the different terms and concepts used in Asia and Australia to describe security issues.
Researchers from the Australian National University and the Lowy Institute will look at what terms such as deterrence, containment, security and terrorist mean in different countries and cultures to eliminate confusion during regional talks.
The four-year project will involve some of Australia's top experts in Asian language and security issues, including ANU linguist Anthony Diller, ANU professors Tony Milner and Des Ball and Lowy Institute specialists Alan Dupont and Allan Gyngell.
"Clear and effective international communication channels are some of the most effective weapons that can be deployed to halt terrorism," Prof Milner said.
"We need to recognise that today, non-state actors - terrorists and criminals, for instance - are often as critical as states in shaping security issues.
"We need to ensure that all nations in our region are equipped to be able to work together against such threats."
The project will bring together specialists in security and language issues to examine differences in approaches to defence matters, terrorism and transnational crime.
It will identify key terms in the different languages of the region and use case studies to show how different words can affect conflict and cooperation.
Its findings should help the Australian government and its agencies, such as federal police and intelligence services, to communicate more effectively with their international counterparts.
Easy, from the point of view of any Muslim country, "terrorist" means "Jewish". From the point of view of the Left in any country, "terrorist" means "George Bush". From the point of view of the rest of the world, "terrorist" means "Muslim". Any questions?
"Allah" = "Lucifer"
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