The Bush administration has floated an inter-agency memo putting the kibosh on words like “jihadist,” “mujahedeen” and “Islamofascist” to officially describe Muslim terrorists, fearing, The Associated Press reports, those words “may actually boost support for radicals among Arab and Muslim audiences by giving them a veneer of religious credibility or by causing offense to moderates.”

“Never use the terms ‘jihadist’ or ‘mujahedeen’ in conversation to describe the terrorists,” the memo reads. Using them to describe terrorists “unintentionally legitimizes their actions.” Instead, “Use the terms ‘violent extremist’ or ‘terrorist.’ Both are widely understood terms that define our enemies appropriately and simultaneously deny them any level of legitimacy.”

The AP got a copy of the memo, which was rumored to be circulating through the Bush administration, and explained that the administration prepared it in March under the auspices of the National Counterterrorism Center and the State Department approved it for diplomatic use earlier this week. The plan is to distribute it to all U.S. embassies.

The memo aims to control officials, loose-lipped or otherwise, who address terrorism publicly, like those in embassies. A bit patronizingly (and debatably), the memo says that while Americans may understand “jihad” to mean “holy war,” it is, in fact, a broader Islamic concept of the struggle to do what’s good. So it urges officials, “don’t take the bait” when addressing, say, statements by Osama bin Laden. Officials should “offer only minimal, if any, response to their messages,” it adds, because “[w]hen we respond loudly, we raise their prestige in the Muslim world.”

Conservative critics, not surprisingly, are calling this a retreat in the war on the War on Terror’s phraseology—an inane back-and-forth that has erupted anew almost every time terrorists or their activities have been publicly described. President George Bush took repeated heat for his persistent use of descriptors like “Islamofascist” for groups like al Qaeda. His administration has since tweaked the wording for the War on Terror (which theretofore may or may not have included the modifier “Global”). Officials recast it as the Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism in 2005, then even more euphemistically essayed the “long war” (in Bush’s 2006 State of the Union).

Concerning America’s partners in the “war,” Britain long ago rejected referring to a “War on Terror” and now even employs the strange contradiction in terms “anti-Muslim activity” to refer to terrorist activities carried out by . . . Muslims terrorists. “Security officials believe that directly linking terrorism to Islam is inflammatory, and risks alienating mainstream Muslim opinion,” England’s Daily Mail explained in January when this new strategy was announced. (Though Gordon Brown’s move, coming under heightened scrutiny ironically in light of news that England has foiled 15 terror plots since 2000, to hold terrorist suspects for more than the allowed 28 days without charge has been angrily denounced as Bush-esque.)

John McCain, meanwhile, received an angry missive last week from the Islamic Society of North America (previously an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation trial) that demanded the senator stop describing terrorists as “Islamic” and opt instead for a “word that is more acceptable to the Muslim community.” The suggested alternative: “criminal.” McCain’s staff says he’ll just stick with “Islamic.”

Discomfiting ties between Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and the drug-trafficking Colombian terrorist group FARC—as well as worrisome revelations about the group’s uranium-bomb aspirations—have spun out of this weekend’s diplomatic mess, pitting leftist Venezuela and Ecuador against more right-leaning Colombia. (Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, whom Chávez has called a “mob boss” and a “liar,” is one of President George Bush’s few South American allies.)

Chávez has often expressed solidarity with FARC, the Spanish acronym for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. In January, he called on nations to reclassify the group as a “genuine army,” but even South America’s fellow travelers weren’t willing to go this far. Now, the strongman appears to have financially aided the FARC, funneling $300 million to the group, perhaps perfunctorily in exchange for hostages, which threatens to bring the U.S. government—a steadfast Colombia backer in the War on Drugs—into direct conflict with Chávez for the first time.

The melee began when Colombian troops raided a FARC stronghold across the Colombia-Ecuador border and killed the group’s second in command Raúl Reyes, among 16 others. This prompted Ecuador, which claimed a sovereignty violation, and Venezuela to jump to FARC’s defense and send reinforcements—10 battalion’s worth, in Venezuela’s case—to the Colombian border. “This could be the start of a war in South America,” Chávez said.

The biggest shocker, however, wasn’t taking out Reyes, but what was on his laptop: Besides Chávez’s recent aid to the FARC, a recovered thank-you note suggests even earlier ties. Chávez apparently received about $150,000 from the FARC after his failed 1992 coup landed him in prison. (Chávez denies both.) More alarming in the West was the revelation in several e-mails that FARC rebels were, according to Colombian Gen. Oscar Naranjo, “seeking to buy 50 kilos of uranium for bomb making with aim of getting involved in international terrorism.”

Unease increased when media accounts varied on the uranium point. CNN reported that laptop evidence “suggests FARC purchased 50 kilograms of uranium this month,” but The Associated Press offered a different Naranjo quote—“When they mention negotiations for 50 kilos of uranium this means that the FARC are taking big steps in the world of terrorism to become a global aggressor”—whose “negotiations” conflicts with CNN’s “purchased.” Naranjo didn’t provide further details, and Time reports he wouldn’t release copies of the documents, which he called “tremendously revelatory.”

Uribe’s government has released some of the Reyes e-mails to El Tiempo, a large Colombian daily. “There is a man who supplies me with material for the explosive,” one reads. “[T]hey have 50 kilos ready and they can sell much more. They have direct contact with those who have the product.”

Questions about whether the FARC could procure enriched or fissile uranium—and what it would do with it if it could—linger, as well as concern about the fact that FARC, while no al Qaeda, is good at smuggling, as it still supplies half the world’s cocaine, with tons heading to Western seaports and, increasingly, through Venezuela. Plus, Chávez’s other connections, like his already-cozy relationship with Iran and his arms deals with Russia, could take on new meaning. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reaffirmed Sunday for any doubters that Iran “has no limit for further expansion of its ties and cooperation with Venezuela.”

In a must-read Wall Street Journal op-ed yesterday, attorney Debra Burlingame laid out the story of how Bill Clinton pardoned a group of 16 terrorists — just before his wife’s run for U.S. Senate. The convicts were members of FALN, a clandestine group that during the 1970s and 80s waged war on America with arson, kidnappings, and bombings, including the 1975 lunch-hour detonation of a Manhattan tavern in which four people were killed, including one who was decapitated.

Mr. Clinton justified the clemencies by asserting that the sentences were disproportionate to the crimes. None of the petitioners, he stated, had been directly involved in crimes that caused bodily harm to anyone. “For me,” the president concluded, “the question, therefore, was whether their continuing incarceration served any meaningful purpose.”

His comments, including the astonishing claim that the FALN prisoners were being unfairly punished because of “guilt by association,” were widely condemned as a concession to terrorists…The prisoners were convicted on a variety of charges that included conspiracy, sedition, violation of the Hobbes Act (extortion by force, violence or fear), armed robbery and illegal possession of weapons and explosives — including large quantities of C-4 plastic explosive, dynamite and huge caches of ammunition. Mr. Clinton’s action was opposed by the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons, the U.S. attorney offices that prosecuted the cases and the victims whose lives had been shattered. In contravention of standard procedures, none of these agencies, victims or families of victims were consulted or notified prior to the president’s announcement…

Further, at least two of those Clinton said were being unfairly punished had been videotaped firing weapons and making bombs. Seven hundred hours of similar surveillance led federal agents to six safe-houses, where they recovered 24 pounds of dynamite, as well as weapons, disguises, fake IDs and thousands of rounds of ammunition.

Congress viewed Clinton’s terror clemencies as a dangerous abuse of presidential power and passed resolutions condemning his actions by a vote of 95-2 in the Senate, 311-41 in the House.

But isn’t all this old news? Burlingame, the sister of “Chic” Burlingame III, the pilot whom Al Qaeda terrorists forced to fly American Flight 77 into the Pentagon, doesn’t think so. It turned out that the FALN pardons were likely traded for votes — and at a time when Bill Clinton publicly claimed to be “obsessed” with efforts to protect the public from terrorists. Now the couple is running for the White House again.

“If Bill and Hillary Clinton were willing to pander to the demands of local Hispanic politicians and leftist human-rights activists defending bomb-makers convicted of seditious conspiracy,” Burlingame wonders, “how might they stand up to pressure from other interest groups working in less obvious ways against U.S. interests in a post-9/11 world?”

Read Burlingame’s op-ed here.

President Bush talked about his alcohol use with former prisoners at a faith-based program, calling his alcoholism an addiction for the first time and sharing the role faith played in his recovery. Here’s a video of the men’s response.

GodTube is tapping its pool of 250,000 registered users and taking an unscientific presidential election poll. Mike Huckabee wins the Christian vote, and Obama comes in second.

The Pew Forum finds some common themes in this year’s raucous presidential primary. The election matters to voters, Republican turnout lags behind Democratic turnout, independent voters are playing a big role, and for Democrats, race and gender matters more than issues.

It’s the Super Bowl Blitz, and companies are exploring ways to expand the impact of the $2.7 million they pay for a 30-second Super Bowl ad. This means taking ads online, so check Yahoo, Google, YouTube and MySpace this Sunday.

The world’s aging population will have an effect on international politics. Researchers say a high youth population and high unemployment rates can be an environment to breed resentment and terrorism. As the youth population gets older, areas like Iraq, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are due to stabilize soon.

A family buried their son, only to discover years later that they’d left his brain behind in the hands of a coroner. Their lawsuit may change the way we treat the deceased.

American scientists have taken a step towards creating artificial life. They have created all the genetic material for a synthetic chromosome. If they can successfully insert it into another bacterium and make it reproduce, they can claim to have created life. Controversial scientist Craig Venter says, “It puts a lot of power in the hands of humans.”

USA Today reports that homeschoolers are helping propel Mike Huckabee’s campaign. Since Labor Day, Huckabee has climbed 20 percentage points in Iowa GOP polls, and the article says thousands of home-school activists could make a difference in the race.

FrontPage Magazine publishes an interview with Dave Gaubatz, who is supplying first-hand counter-terrorism intelligence with his Mapping Shari’a Project. The project identifies Islamic Centers in the U.S. and then does research to determine two things: which promote Shari’a law and which promote “violent Jihad and the destruction of the West.” Gaubatz is testing the hypothesis that Shari’a is the “driving doctrinal force” behind Jihad.

Humans are evolving faster, not staying the same, Science Daily says. Humans on different continents are becoming more different, not more alike: “We are getting less alike, not merging into a single, mixed humanity.”

The Chinese government is letting select Christian groups pass out Bibles at the Olympic Games. The allowance comes after human rights groups alleged that Olympic organizers were forbidding Bibles and other religious items. The organizers contended that they only said, “Each traveler is recommended to take no more than one Bible into China.”

Are gifted children “left behind” under U.S. educational law? Some experts argue that “No Child Left Behind” diverts resources from gifted children and focuses teachers’ attention on children who are on the verge of failure. Nancy Green, executive director of the National Association for Gifted Children, said “It’s all about bringing people up to that minimum level of performance.”

In Kansas, pro-lifers have convinced a grand jury to investigate a Planned Parenthood they say performs illegal late-term abortions, provides false information to state officials, fails to comply with parental notice requirements, and participates in illegal trafficking of fetal tissue.

Guatemalan lawmaker Roland Morales says, “Starting Dec. 31, the business of adoptions is over.” On Tuesday, Guatemalan legislators adopted a law that tightens adoption law but allows pending adoptions to proceed with the previous regulations. The law attempts to clean up a system that some say allows birth mothers to sell their children.

How did a known Hamas operative almost get appointed to the Columbus, Ohio Public School Board? That’s a question Patrick Poole sought to answer after discovering Caroline Keeble, also known as Anisa Abd El Fattah, was leading a double life as she circulated amongst Columbus’ political and cultural elite. His investigation led him to four conclusions:

1. Islamic extremists are actively targeting civic and cultural institutions to provide them cover and to give them legitimacy.

2. These extremists are deliberate, bold, and not beyond intentional and flagrant deception (the Islamic doctrine of taqiyya) to accomplish their strategic goals.

3. Local researchers familiar with those institutions promoting radicalism in their area and who are paying constant attention to what is going on are absolutely critical to gaining an understanding of the threat.

4. Any area is susceptible to infiltration by Islamic extremists.

Poole says the Fattah/Keeble incident “should be a wake-up call to Americans, that when it comes to Islamic extremism, they not only need to pay attention to what is happening in the Middle East–but also in their own backyard.”

Tonight, the CW network premiered the new sitcom “Aliens in America,” which follows the exploits of a Muslim Pakistani foreign exchange student living in small-town middle America. Everyone from those at the Brookings Institution to the Islamic Center of Southern California have praised the show for its “more diverse” representation of Muslims - in other words, depicting them as something other than terrorists. “This will be the first and maybe even primary source for most Americans in understanding anything positive or accurate about Islam,” said Jihad Turk, the center’s religious director. We’ll see how they feel about it after next week’s episode, in which the Muslim teen and his host are thought to be gay, a plot turn that even USA Today reviewer Robert Bianco found “atrocious.”