The phrase "attack on a whole" is not correct in standard written English.
It seems to be an attempt to convey a general or comprehensive attack, but the wording is awkward and unclear.
Example: "The criticism was an attack on a whole that left many feeling defensive."
Alternatives: "attack as a whole" or "assault on the entirety".
In fact, they may soon be more significant than ever because, as we'll examine next, rushing attacks are going to take on a whole new, space-oriented dimension.
This vaccine approach "sets the stage to attack malaria on a whole new front," says mosquito biochemist Shirley Luckhart of Virginia Polytechnic Institute in Blacksburg.
The terrorist attacks in Paris happened, he said, and his campaign "took on a whole new meaning".
Councilman DiBrienza stressed that a bias attack on any resident was an attack on the whole neighborhood, a thought echoed in the park by Joan Minieri, 38, who was jogging with her baby, Alin, in a stroller.
The local controversy surrounding the interracial relationship caused the couple and their circle of friends to be isolated socially, and even led to a physical attack on the whole group one night in an Acton public house.
There is a widespread sense that Sept. 11 and related security concerns caused some, though not all, of the airlines woes, and since that Sept. 11 was an attack on the whole society, no one industry should bear a disproportionate share of the costs, as the airlines have done.
His savage murder is not only an attack on an individual, but an attack on the whole humanitarian cause.
The doves retort that NATO's Article 5, which says that an attack on one member is an attack on the whole alliance, is deterrent enough; new members who question its worth are hurting their own cause.Yet easterners are raising their voices in talks about NATO's new "strategic concept", a document to define its purpose that will be adopted next year.
Manager: … when they question my actions as a person, it's an attack on the whole system, not me.
