Let's look up a definition of the word ‘fascism'

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Robert Suchner Editor: The word &#8220fascism” has been bandied about lately by the president and members of his administration (&#8220Muslims call Bush's term ‘Islamic fascism' unhelpful,” Daily Chronicle, Sept. 2). The way they are using the term, it appears that, once again - as they did with &#8220liberal” - Republicans are intentionally distorting the definition of a term for political advantage. This time, let's not let them get away with it. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines fascism as &#8220a political philosophy, movement, or regime ... that exalts nation ... above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition.” Likewise, the American Heritage Dictionary defines fascism as &#8220a system of government that exercises a dictatorship of the extreme right, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with belligerent nationalism.” Lawrence Britt has examined the fascist regimes of Hitler (Germany), Mussolini (Italy), Franco (Spain), Suharto (Indonesia) and several Latin American regimes and reports the following 14 defining characteristics as common to each (Free Inquiry magazine, spring 2003): 1. Powerful and continuous appeal to nationalism 2. Disdain for the recognition of human rights 3. Identification of enemies/scapegoats as a unifying cause 4. Supremacy of the military over domestic matters 5. Rampant sexism in keeping women in disadvantaged roles 6. Control of the mass media 7. Obsession with national security 8. Intertwining of religion and government 9. Protection of corporate power creating a mutually beneficial business/government power elite. 10. Suppression of the power of labor and unions 11. Disdain for intellectuals and the arts 12. Obsession with crime and punishment 13. Rampant cronyism and corruption 14. Fraudulent elections. The way Bush, Rumsfeld and others have been using the term &#8220fascism” to describe terrorists bears little resemblance to either dictionary definitions or to the characteristics identified by studying fascist regimes. Wikipedia says the following about the term: &#8220In contemporary political discourse, adherents of some political ideologies tend to associate fascism with their enemies, or define it as the opposite of their own views.” It appears to me that that is exactly what Bush et al. are doing. Clearly, what &#8220fascism” means to Bush et al. is anyone they want to demonize who they cannot credibly label communist. Robert Suchner DeKalb