Janet CollinsJust Don’t Mention the War on Terror
March 31st 2009 06:15
It's now official - well sort of - there's no more "war on terror", in words at least. Washington is now deleting all references to "war on terror'.
It’s been speculation for months now that there would be no more use of the phrase the “War on Terror” by the Obama Administration, the phrase it seems has all but disappeared from government terminology. One report earlier this year had observed that President Obama had only used the term once since coming to power and had shied away from it since.
It was of course one of President Bush’s favourite phrases. The “War on Terror” was the declaration by Bush following the 9/11 terrorist attacks and then became an official term when the Global War on Terror phrase was used in official documents and correspondence, often under its acronym “GWOT”. The Bush Administration was so keen on the phrase a GWOT “Expeditionary Medal” for soldiers despatched to designated war zones was even introduced.
Despite his penchant for using the phrase, Bush did limit the use of it in his final year as President, probably because of the criticism the term invited from his own Homeland Security Department and from senior officers in the administrations of some of America’s closest allies.
Last month Newsweek reported that Obama’s national-security officials had been brainstorming different ways to describe efforts of the U.S. government to defeat Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan, Iraq and Pakistan. Reporting a response to CNN’s Anderson Cooper, the Newsweek article quoted Obama: “Words matter in this situation because one of the ways we’re going to win this struggle is through the battle of hearts and minds”.
Critics had long taken measures to remove the term from the national language but had faced obstruction from the Bush Administration, even though Bush decreased his use of the words in his final months.
Interest in the deletion of the words from Washington’s official language flared up again this week. When asked whether the phrase had been officially discarded, Hillary Clinton told reporters that the Obama administration had abandoned the term ‘global war on terror’. However, Clinton did add that she hadn’t seen any specific orders and that the new administration in Washington was simply not using the phrase any longer.
Despite Clinton’s denials of any formal instruction, the Washington Post reported recently that the Office of Security Review had issued an email saying “The Administration prefers to avoid using the term ‘Long War’ or ‘Global War on Terror’ (GWOT). Please use ‘Overseas Contingency Operation’”.
The debate about words and messages by politicians is viewed with a lot of cynicism. While we may question whether words can replace action or inaction, there are some times when words make a big difference. I, for one, will be happy if I never hear the term "war on terror" again.
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Sourced:
Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, Newsweek, Live News
Image credit: abcnews.go.com
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Comment by Damo
Comment by Janet Collins
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You forget that the phrase was "verbal engineering" as you put it in the first place. It was all to make Bush look so so powerful.
I have no problemswith them removing the words which were actually meaningless anyway.
Thanks for the visit.
Comment by Damo
Yet we never seem to drop the mantra of hearts and minds.
Words are not nearly as important as actual policy.
They can call it operation fluffy as far I am concerned but I still need to know what their actual policy is.
Comment by Janet Collins
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My whole dislike of this phrase was that it not only was so abstract but it paved the way for Bush to go to war with Iraq.
Thanks again.
Comment by Damo
MY dislike of he phrase seems from he fact that it is meaningless.
A war on terrorism has a meaning but a war on terror is pure nonsense that fails to say what it is. How does one fight terror? You cannot have a war against people feeling terror. So I am just waiting to see what meaningless term will replace it.
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Comment by Postmodern Critic
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Comment by Janet Collins
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Thanks for the comment.