Readers React: Islamic state fighters: They’re terrorists, not militants

To the editor: Are the latest political linguistics coming from Washington or from The Times? According to the dictionary, the term “militant” means combative or aggressive, while the term “terrorist” is defined as one who uses or favors terrorizing methods. (“Obama says U.S. will be ‘relentless’ in pursuing Islamic State,” Aug. 20)

The use of the term “militant” to describe the heinous crime of beheading an American citizen must be some kind of politically correct double-speak. Certainly this act and others like it are more than combative or aggressive. Beheading a human being, killing thousands of refugees and committing despicable acts so savage that even Al Qaeda’s leaders have disowned Islamic State: Are not these the acts of terrorists or terrorism?

The president denounced journalist James Foley’s killing as “an act of violence that shocks the conscience of the entire world.” Moreover, the article states that the Islamic State is “using beheadings and crucifixions in some areas to terrorize residents.”

Sheltering these terrorists with kinder and gentler descriptions is an insult to any human being with a conscience.

Penny Wood, Vista