OPINION:
There has been some media discussion about the refusal of State Department spokespersons to use the word “war” in connection with the fight against the Islamic State. Whether the people involved realize it or not, there is good and sufficient reason for avoiding that word.
For one thing, under the Constitution, only Congress can declare war, even though the last time that action was taken was 73 years and many “wars” ago. But probably more important is that while the media can use any term it chooses, the word “war” is generally understood in international law to mean a conflict between sovereign nations. To use the word to describe actions against the Islamic State could be construed as a de facto recognition by the United States of that group as a nation, something this group deeply desires and the United States is rightly determined to avoid.
JAMES E. KEENAN
Middletown, Md.
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