harmonicminer

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.

GWOT, GSAVE, OCO… what’s in an acronym?  Since we can’t call it what it is, namely the Global War on Islamo-Fascism (or GWIF), we need something else, please oh please something better than “Overseas Contingency Operation”, which sounds like someone in Teheran needs an appendectomy.  (Can I be the anaesthesiologist for Ahmendinejad?  I want to hear him talk after breathing helium…)

So, the floor is open; do you have any good acronyms for killing fanatical creeps who want to kill us, and convincing wannabe fanatical creeps that maybe they should take up dentistry or something?

CLUB —  Combatting Loony Unbathed Barbarians
SMACK —  Siccing Marines At Clever Killers
IMBROGLIOS —  Impelling Mohammed’s Brutish Reprobates On Great Leap Into Outer Space

LEFT —  Liberals Eviscerating Freaky Taliban

KISS — Killing Insurgent Sunni Sickos

and last, but not least,

OBAMA  —  Organized Brigades Attacking Muhammeds’s Acolytes

Ok, I admit it, I’m reaching here.  Help me out.  Winning submission will be submitted to the Obama White House.

In the meantime:  if you’re a terrorist shot by a US Marine in an “Overseas Contingency Operation”, are you still dead?  We can only hope.

Do you suppose the Left will try to have Obama impeached for not getting Congress to “declare an Overseas Contingency Operation,” as required by the US Constitution, before sending more troops to Afghanistan?  Funny thing: I haven’t gotten any email lately from peaceniks who voted for Obama.  Given that he’s adding forces to Afghanistan, he is about to be the owner of that war.  I wonder if the Lefties who voted for him, because they thought McCain was a war mongerer in the Bushitler tradition, will now repent.

Nah.

Tags: terrorism