Please, stop reading The Weekly Standard. I'll bet you say "homicide bomber" too!
Well, as someone said after Reagan's "evil empire" speech, let's break down the phrase.
"Islamo". Are you suggesting that Al Qaeda and so forth are not tied to an Islamist philosophy?
"Fascist". Are you suggesting that their philosophy is not totalitarian?
"Homicide bomber". Well, they bomb in order to murder people. Are you suggesting that they don't bomb and/or that they don't murder people?
The Soviet Union really was an EVIL empire. That was self evident. Al-qaeda et al. are not fascist in the traditional 1930s sense. The "islamo" part is true. The are Muslims, plain and simple, and they are simply exercising the teachings of their faith to the fullest. What Neocons call "islamofascism" is nothing more than orthodox islam.
As for "homicide bombers", that is a redundant statement. Was Billy the Kid a "homicide shooter" or OJ a "homicide stabber". Suicide bomber is the preferred term when the bomber intends to blow himself up along with his victims.
Fascist: a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race 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
I am not sure they are really fascists according to the definition. It is really just Islam at its most extreme. To me Islamists is enough and is less of a mouthful. They add the fascist part so as not to seem to condemn Islam - which is perfectly allowed (if not required) here at FR.
The whole homicide versus suicide bomber is just silly semantics. We used to call them kamikazees, but since these guys are not Japanese and apparently the Arab word is not catchy enough . . .
the problem with "homicide bomber" is that it is pure propaganda AND it does not fully describe the signified.
A "homicide bomber" doesn't have to commit suicide.
Tim McVeigh was a "homicide bomber"
Eric Rudolph was a "homicide bomber"
"suicide bomber" conveys the fact that the bomber killed themselves too...
if one committed suicide by blowing one's self up without killing anyone else, then one would be someone that "committed suicide."
"homicide bomber" is just a discursive trick by those that want to somehow make "suicide bomber" even worse...
It is really strange when ostensibly conservative people play the same sorts of post-modern word games that they claim to oppose amongst left wingers.
"suicide bomber" is the proper way to refer to terrorists that blow themselves up and take others with them.