Now, it would seem, we are at war with words, nothing new there I suppose. For all you following along, we've got: "is," "last throes," "not free," "covert" and now we're redefining war. These guys are good!
I just wonder how all those guys in the field feel about dying in a struggle. or the families of fallen servicemen.
Instead of soldier's names inscribed in granite as in the Vietnam War Memorial, what will they get? Handwritten notes under the title "Struggle Against Violent Extremism, Iraq Theatre."
Our Military deserves better from our Administration. And you thought the Press was demoralizing.
Very long article, here's the link:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/07/26/news/terror.php
Donny's speech referenced:
http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/2005/sp20050525-secdef1461.html
Here's the intro:
The Bush administration is retooling its slogan for the fight against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, pushing the idea that the long-term struggle is as much an ideological battle as a military mission, according to senior administration and military officials.
In recent speeches and news conferences, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the country's top military officer have spoken of "a global struggle against violent extremism" rather than "the global war on terror," which had been the catchphrase of choice.
Administration officials say the earlier phrase may have outlived its usefulness, because it focused attention solely, and incorrectly, on the military campaign.
General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the National Press Club on Monday that he had "objected to the use of the term 'war on terrorism' before, because if you call it a war, then you think of people in uniform as being the solution."
He said the threat instead should be defined as violent extremism, with the recognition that "terror is the method they use."
Although the military is heavily engaged in the mission now, he said, future efforts require "all instruments of our national power, all instruments of the international communities' national power." The solution is "more diplomatic, more economic, more political than it is military," he concluded.
Administration and Pentagon officials say the revamped campaign has grown out of meetings of President George W. Bush's senior national security advisers that began in January, and it reflects the evolution in Bush's own thinking nearly four years after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Rumsfeld spoke in the new terms on Friday when he addressed an audience in Annapolis, Maryland, for the retirement ceremony of Admiral Vern Clark as chief of naval operations. Rumsfeld described America's efforts as it "wages the global struggle against the enemies of freedom, the enemies of civilization."