Good, Bad, and Ugly

Taliban hold one missing soldier, 2nd killed – spokesman

KABUL, July 25 (Reuters) – One of two U.S. soldiers who went missing in Afghanistan was a captive of the Taliban and the other had been killed, a spokesman for the insurgents said on Sunday.

I love your news and the quality of your reports.

Although this article was both of concern and generally well-written, I was surprised to see the colloquial expression “went missing” in the news story.

I understand it is a minor thing, however, it is reducing the grammar of a great company to that of more common, and less correct street language.

Dan G.

This has long been a common phrase in British English, and more recently its use appears to be growing in the U.S. as well.

I’m not a big fan of it, because the word “disappeared” works just as well and is more widely understood. However, I don’t think it’s worth trying to ban it from our reports, especially in a story written in Afghanistan and edited in Singapore: GBU Editor

A pamphlet, appealing for information about one of two U.S. soldiers who went missing from their base, is seen in Kabul July 25, 2010. One of two U.S. soldiers who went missing in Afghanistan was a captive of the Taliban and the other had been killed, a spokesman for the insurgents said on Sunday  REUTERS/Ahmad Masood

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