"Global War on Terror" has ended.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The End of the Global War on Terror

The end of the Global War on Terror -- or at least the use of that phrase -- has been codified at the Pentagon. Reports that the phrase was being retired have been circulating for some time amongst senior administration officials, and this morning speechwriters and other staff were notified via this e-mail to use "Overseas Contingency Operation" instead.

"Recently, in a LtGen [John] Bergman, USMC, statement for the 25 March [congressional] hearing, OMB required that the following change be made before going to the Hill," Dave Riedel, of the Office of Security Review, wrote in an e-mail.

"OMB says: 'This Administration prefers to avoid using the term "Long War" or "Global War on Terror" [GWOT]. Please use "Overseas Contingency Operation.'"

Riedel asked recipients to "Please pass on to your speech writers and try to catch this change before the statements make it to OMB."

An OMB spokesman took issue with the interpretation of OMB's wishes. "There was no memo, no guidance," said Kenneth Baer. "This is the opinion of a career civil servant."

Referring to the phrase "global war on terror," Baer said, "I have no reason to believe that would be stricken" from Hill testimony.

By way of history, senior Bush administration officials several years ago wanted to stop using the phrase and switch to something many felt might better reflect the realities of the fight against international terrorism.

One leading option was to change the name to GSAVE, or Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism. This was not as catchy an acronym as GWOT, but officials felt it more accurately described the battle.Then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld even used the GSAVE abbreviation publicly.

But, in a White House meeting, President Bush ruled that it was still a war for him, and Rumsfeld and everyone else went back to GWOT.

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2009/0...d=news-col-blog

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

Someone should tell the terrorists.

[Ban Hammer 14,271]

and the new name for gwot is.......obama's problem now.

[fozzie 41]

You can put lipstick on a pig but its still a pig!

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

I always thought when they coined that "War on Terror" phrase, that Stephen King had better watch out

It was very silly - I could care less what they call it though. To me its more important that the policy of pre-emptive interventionism be halted.

After Iraq few people have the stomach for more war.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

This story may be falling apart:

WASHINGTON, March 25 (UPI) -- A tiff is surfacing between the Pentagon and the U.S. Office of Management and Budget over whether excising phrases such "global war on terror" was ordered.

In a memo distributed to Pentagon staff members, the Defense Department's Office of Security Review said "this administration prefers to avoid using the term 'long war' or 'global war on terror'. Please use 'overseas contingency operation,'" The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported Wednesday. The memo said the directive came from the OMB, the executive branch agency that reviews public testimony of administration officials before it is delivered.

OMB spokesman Kenneth Baer says there was no directive.

"There was no memo, no guidance," Baer said Tuesday. "This is the opinion of a career civil servant."

The Pentagon e-mail distributed Monday advised Pentagon personnel to "please pass this onto your speechwriters and try to catch this change before statements make it to OMB."

Baer told the Post, "I have no reason to believe that (the phrase 'global war on terror') would be stricken" from future congressional testimony.

Former President George W. Bush adopted the phrase soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States to help embody the breadth of the threat it perceived and the military operations needed to confront it.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/03/25/UPI...65041237983307/