When is a 'war' not a war?

Canadian Forces CF-18 fighter jets are being prepared to join a U.S.-led effort against ISIS militants (File photo: Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

As Canada prepares to send fighter aircraft and support staff to Iraq to join in the fight against the Islamic State, journalists are debating what words to use when describing what Canada is going to be involved in.

Is it simply "airstrikes"? A "combat mission"? Or should we refer to it as a "war"?

This is the sort of issue that arises all the time in a newsroom. The words we choose matter. But those choices are often quite contentious, because the world is full of conflicts and contradictions. Just think of how hard it is to find universally accepted language around the Middle East, for example; for abortion, climate change, and so on.

On this story alone, the debate over what to call this mission is matched in scale by the debate over what to call the "other side" in this conflict -- the insurgent group waging war and wreaking misery in that part of the world.

Should we call it "Islamic State", as the group now calls itself? Or would doing so tacitly endorse that group's legitimacy?  The Canadian government, as well as the United States government, have opted to stick with the group's old name, ISIL - the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

That label is a translation of the group's former Arabic name that reads ad-Dawlah al Islmyah fil Iraq wa Sham, from which many others have derived the acronym ISIS, which is the term CBC News has been using. And if you analyze what term people use if they go to the Google search-engine, ISIS appears to be far and away the most commonly searched name. 

^{Hundreds of Sunni and Shiite Muslims stood together outside Calgary City Hall in June to protest against the sectarian violence and terrorism ripping apart Iraq. (Meghann Dionne/Radio-Canada.)}

But using "ISIS" raises the ire of some, too. In recent weeks, we've had audience members tell us that ISIS sounds "too cool" and glamorizes their cause. One wrote to us recently suggesting that it is insulting to those people who still worship Isis, the ancient Egyptian goddess.

We are not so arrogant as to think we have a single "right" answer. But CBC News has to make the best choice for accuracy, for clarity, for consistency, all in the interest of giving Canadians the best reportage anywhere.

Which brings us back to the question of what to call our participation in Iraq. Some observers have opted for the most direct route and are reporting that Canada's going to war. They say that since the fighting in Iraq and Syria is clearly a war, and since Canada is participating, then we must be at war.

In avoiding use of that word, the Canadian government has gone in a different direction. For the moment, so is CBC News. Our reasoning here is that going to war is not the same thing as undertaking a limited military operation in support of one side of a war.

Of course, that's not done lightly. Those of us of a certain age recall the silliness of when western leaders called the Korean War a "police action."

Nonetheless, the view we're taking is that when it comes to language and labelling, "war" is a little like pregnancy...you're either one thing or the other, "pregnant" or not and "at war" or not.

The term "war" should be reserved for situations where a government has declared war and there is an all-out national commitment to use the country's blood and treasure to defeat an enemy...like the two World Wars.

The Canadian mission to Iraq is far more limited. Our contribution is limited. The time frame is limited (six months). We have made no commitment beyond that. And so, while Canada is going to fight in a war, on a mission that polls show is supported by most Canadians, we at CBC News aren't saying that Canada's at war.

On this call, as with the ISIS decision, our editorial managers are keeping an open mind and giving the situation a regular review. You may recall that in Afghanistan, the official name for Canada's involvement was "Operation Athena." But as time dragged on and the scale of Canada's involvement increased, we used the term "war". As this situation evolves, our practice may as well.

Choosing one word over another may seem like a relatively small thing, but it's part of our effort to bring Canadians the most accurate and reliable news found anywhere.