If you didn’t know the definition of the word “terrorist” before Sept. 11, 2001…you do now. It blips off our lips more than we care to count and has become a common noun in our newfound vocabulary.

For a formal definition, I turned to The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Simply put, a terrorist is somebody who practices terrorism, or “the unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons.”

Is there any doubt in our minds that the atrocities that were hurled upon our nation a month ago were the work of terrorists?

Not if you’re employed by Reuters. This London-based global news agency is in a bit of too-hot tea because it banned its news staff from using the word terrorist (except when quoting someone). Stephen Jukes, the wire service’s global head of news, gave the following explanation in an internal memo sent to his staff: “We all know that one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter and that Reuters upholds the principle that we do not use the word terrorist…To be frank, it adds little to call the attack on the World Trade Center a terrorist attack.”

Some of the recipients of the memo weren’t thrilled with the message, and it was circulated widely to the outside media…appearing in news stories around the country. Reuters, founded in London in 1851, was in a bit of a PR pickle on this one.

Communiqué to the rescue! The CEO and EIC (Editor-in-Chief) of Reuters sent a letter to the editors of certain U.S. newspapers to try and set the record straight. (Note: I checked with the EIC of The South Whidbey Record, but no such letter has landed on his desk as of yet). Here’s what the letter had to say:

“We write in response to the confusion surrounding the use of the word ‘terrorist’ in Reuters news stories. We lost six members of the Reuters family and offices that housed 550 others, who thankfully survived. From the first moments after the attacks, Reuters staff around the world worked tirelessly to account for their colleagues, restore our information services to customers, and report the news.

“However, these efforts have been overshadowed by the controversy over the policy of our Editorial group to avoid using emotional terms such as “terrorist” in their news stories. This policy has served Reuters and, more importantly, our readers well by ensuring access to news as it occurs, wherever it occurs. As a global news organization reporting from 160 countries, Reuters’ mission is to provide accurate and impartial accounts of events so that individuals, organizations and governments can make their own decisions based on the facts.

“Nevertheless, in an internal memo reminding our journalists of our policy in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks, a statement was made that ‘one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.’ This wording caused deep offense among members of our staff, our readers and the public at large, many of whom felt this meant Reuters was somehow making a value judgement concerning the attacks. This was never our intention, nor is it our policy. Our policy is to avoid the use of emotional terms and not make value judgements concerning the facts we attempt to report accurately and our sympathy to all those who have been affected by these tragic events.”

Got that?

Granted, we’re all hypersensitive these days about a lot of things, including our vocabulary. But not using the word terrorist in order to impart some type of impartiality is absolutely ridiculous. These 19 barbarians were not freedom fighters…they were terrorists.

Reuters, get it right…the rest of us have.

WHERE IN THE WORLD IS SLADE GORTON?

Much to my surprise, former U.S. Senator Slade Gorton boarded the Amtrak train in Seattle last Friday morning to Vancouver, B.C. As he entered the dining car, there was no room at the inn, except for the empty seat across from me at a table for two. I pointed to the chair and said, “You’re welcome to sit here.” Since we were going to be breaking bread together, I introduced myself and engaged in a little chitchat. So what’s Gorton up to these days? Well, he’s not the most loquacious fella in town, but he did say he was practicing law and on his way up to Vancouver, B.C. to give a speech. He also said he tries to make it up to his place on South Whidbey at least half the weekends of the year; and that he had only missed three Mariners’ home games. Other than that, he was pretty tight lipped…and very tight tipped. He didn’t leave one.

E-mail Sue Frause at skfrause@whidbey.com.