It seems that the war formerly known as the war on terror sometimes still is known in that way. We have this more or less from the horse’s mouth – from the mouth, that is, of US Secretary of Defence Leon Panetta. Talking to James Naughtie about the Algerian hostage situation, Panetta says here (at 2 minutes 30 seconds in):
This is a war: the war on terrorism… It remains primarily a military and intelligence struggle…
It’s another one of these. Cue hand-wringing by the distressed defenders of abstract nouns and itinerant Guardianistas. Or, alternatively, there’s the following thought (£): ‘Jihadism is not a set of negotiable demands but a declaration of war, and should be treated as such.’ (Thanks: Ami.)