U.S. Use of `pillars' Echoes Muslims

A Bush administration policy paper outlines eight "pillars" of its strategy to win the war in Iraq — a word that echoes the five "pillars of Islam," used by Muslims to describe the bases of their faith.

President Bush has angered Muslims in the past with his choice of words, particularly when he called for a "crusade" against al-Qaida soon after the Sept. 11 terror attacks — recalling in Muslims' eyes the historical Christian Crusades against Islam in the Holy Land.

"Pillar," however, is a more neutral term.

"It doesn't cause a problem like 'crusades,'" said Fahmy Huweidi, a columnist who writes on Islam for Arab newspapers. "I don't think the use of 'pillars' will be seen negatively or positively by Muslims, either as an insult or as a way to gain their support. The word 'pillars' has many uses in the Arabic language, but 'crusades' has just one, and it's seen as negative."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051201/ap_on_go_pr_wh/iraq_us_pillars

Lawrence chose the title "The Seven Pillars of Wisdom" for his autobiography mainly because it sounded cool.

To this day, my mother still thinks I've made a breakthrough in spritual self-awareness because she saw that pretty red book sitting on my coffee table. Maybe some genius in the Pentagon thinks they can get away with a similar thing.