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We cannot ""use another synonym"", as we, the editors, have no authority in applying any kind of terminology to historical events. This constitutes WP:OR. I have no idea what you mean by ""explaining the chronology of events""; the point is that there is no third-party assessment of the event as ""reprisal"" or ""retaliation"", which means you are making it up, which means it should not be on Wikipedia.   "