Obama drops the phrase "War on Terror"

the term is stupid anyways

y'all need to stop lumping a-stan with iraq

if you must fight, fight against men not ideas, men will perish ideas are immortal.

I hated "War on Terror," but "Overseas Contingency Operation" is almost worse! I mean, what the hell is that? Could you be any more vague, Mr. President?

And anyway, it really doesn't matter what you call it. Everyone's sick of all the platitudes spouted by American politicians in the last decade (or decades, really). Now more than ever, actions speak louder than words.

it's not 'overseas' though is it? personally i like 'action against arseholes' but i can see why it's not viable.
what about 'vorsprung durch.... no wait....
'love thy neighbour'?

no... i've got it 'positive intercultural development program'...too many words?...

oh dear...

What are those people contingent on- our ability to save them?

Wag, wag, wag the tail... "Overseas Contingency Operation" - why not call it "International Submission Tactics" or better yet - "Anal Cavity Surrender"!!! WTF does it matter what you call it? Those fanatics will hit us when we least expect it - they have patience, and as soon as you relax your sphincter - you will be had!!!

Perhaps, politically incorrect?

It's just rephasing the terminology. Making it less hateful, more exceptable. In a word. Hype. Every politician does it. Like global warming is now climate change. Easier to swallow. Bush needed a strong phrase to get his point across, it's advertising; getting people to see it the way you want them to.
You're kinda hungry right now. A little snack would be really good mmmmaybe a bag of crispy tasty potato chips would really hit the spot right now... instead of I want some greasy, salty fried root slices, to smear on my work, to tie me over 'til supper.

About time the Government droped that wrong phrase that only helped propel fear!

...and thats how the war on terror was ended!!!!!!

/sarcasm

It's not the words that are the problem! It's the actions. And sadly, it seems the actions will continue, no matter what words they use to define them.

I'm still shocked to see how many still believe the US is so weak, guys with camels and AK 47's in a desert thousands of miles away, are somehow a threat to our security, and stability.

All we need to do to look for the threat to our countries stability is drive out to DC and watch the fuckers on the HILL!

Obama was fear mongering when he said he wanted to protect America from another terror attack the other day. Can't find the source but I know he said it.

Thank God!! Now if we could only get Fox News to stop using the term and stop their war mongering then I think that gives the US a much needed edge at beating pessimism and creating a positive atmosphere for peace to began to flourish.

when are we going to bring Bush and his cronies up on war crimes and crimes against humanaty????

Lot of people here seem to like the name "War on Terror." I think it keeps things simple for you, and keeps you in a state of constant agitation to fear, which seems to be your comfort zone. It also keeps you woefully susceptible to LimbaughFox Propaganda. Please, don't let anything change that. Rational thinking is for pussies!

I think the name change is good because the phrase "war on terror" assumes that our actions are really to fight terrorism (a neverending battle), and that all our enemies are terrorists. I also agree that merely changing the name doesn't change the reality of what we are doing. But I am happy with the name change on its own merits.

When they drop the war, then they will actually be doing something worth mentioning.

If War on Terror is grammatically incorrect (which I completely agree with) then how to they see Global War on Terror as any different? I think this is almost more annoying purely because now the media have a stupid acronym to use.

If we call it by another name it won't mean the same thing. Fucking euphemisms.

The clever anti-anointed...

The phrase "War On Terror" has made America sound like a country of 12 year-olds ever since Bush coined it. It's impossible to WIN or END a "War on Terror" - as comedian David Cross points out, its like having a "War on Jealousy." It's a war on a CONCEPT and it's impossible to win.

Thank goodness Obama "re-branded" it. Now, maybe we can END it.

If would be great if they change the way of do things, instead of just the name.

"Obama drops phrase War on Terror"

and he picks up War on America

I don't like 'Overseas Contingency Operation.' It sounds bureaucratic and deceiving. Deceptive terms like this have been employed in the past to mask attrocities committed by governments. Not that I liked the term War on Terror either. Maybe we should make an ammendment to the constitution requiring that the phrases used by the government be more accurate in what they describe.

It's about the OIL

Let's hope this administration is more honest and not fighting wars for commodities in the name of something else.

There never was a war on terror................it was a sham cover up to get at OIL.

These 'War on Something' phrases are soo 2008.

nice...overseas contingency operations...this man is slowly erasing our memory of GWB

Nothing bi-partisan here mutedmajority, renaming an issue is simply having a meeting to plan the next meeting... how about a meeting that accomplishes something meaningful for the american citizens and doesn't cost us anything?

How cool. It always sounded desperately forced when Gordon Brown and David Cameron used this phrase. Hopefully they'll drop it now as well.

It's amazing what can be accomplished with the help of a tele-prompter. He sounds more like Sylvester the cat otherwise...

It is great to have a president that invokes confidence and has a command of English and can say many sentences in a row without the ah's ooh's and fumbling of words and phrases and actually looks professional. The Freaking moronic idiot Bush scared the hell out of America and the world with his presence behind a microphone. It showed the world how dumb and dim witted a person can be and still fix an election in America. The world was laughing at America and it's idiotic president who murdered many people for personal greed. Keep going Obama, at least you have credibility and the knowledge needed to run the country. We don't need any more morons in the Whitehouse, put Bush and Cheeneey and thier minions in GITMO and then close it forever.

Call it anything you want, we are still dealing with a war against terrorism. It is a fact. If it makes you sensitive types feel better to rename it, go for it although I'm sure the time & money it took to make this "change" could've been better spent elsewhere.

Big deal. As long as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan go on I don't give a damn what they call it, it is still war and we are still paying for it. So sick of the Obama syncophants who can't see beyond the same hype that Bush supporters put out about him to justify their 'love.' Meanwhile, the Congress and government robs us blind. Why did Obama vote to give these banks a bailout in the first place? He is only making it look as if he is angry about "bonuses" now because he like all of the thieves before him underestimated the anger of the American people. But what better puppet to place in there after the last puppet. He can sweet talk our entire future away from us and no one even flinches.

SEVEN TRIILLION in debt over the next ten years and he doesn't even give a damn that it is our children who will be saddled with it as he continues war in Afghanistan and will leave troops in Iraq. And dropping some Bs phrase in another empty gesture is what people think should be number one news. We sure do need a revolution in this country to throw all of these crooks out. Saddling my son with this debt is not something I am about to gush over. Anyone over the age of 10 should be downright angry at what is being done now. But of course, party syncophants who put party and the man over principle will never understand that as they get sweet talked into giving their shirt away. Typical.

Has anyone told the troops that they have been renamed?

"War on a Tactic" is no good either.

how is this so great? if anything it just seems like the administration doesn't want to draw attention to the war anymore even though its still as real and brutal as its ever been. i'm not agreeing with the bush administrations fear propaganda by any means but honestly don't heap praise up on obama for changing the name especially when the intentions behind it might be just as cunning as the bush administrations

When phrases like "War on Terror" are in constant use, a country makes panicky stupid mistakes like re-electing George W. Bush.

Why don't they rename the war on drugs too and change their policies on that issue? Currently it should be called the "expensive futile policy issue". What do you think? I'm glad they are changing the policies on our overseas contingency operation but this isnt a very catchy title.

What's the big deal with changing the rhetoric when the actions remain the same?

It'd be better if the Overseas Contingency Operations ended altogether since we know it's all based onl bullshit anyways.

Overseas Contingency Operation WTF?

lebow couldn't have said it better.

Do you feel "Overseas Contigency Operation" is specific or really says what it is we're doing there? It's another vague euphamism to make it more digestable and tolerable to the American public.

Do you feel "Overseas Contigency Operation" is specific or really says what it is we're doing there? It's another vague euphamism to make it more digestable and tolerable to the American public.

These are criminals. Whether they're running drugs or blowing up schoolbusses or flying planes into buildings.
Give them a booking number and not a marble likeness.
Throw the bums out. Don't make them martyrs. That is the entire goal.
SPECIFICITY like Neocongo says.
Words are very powerful. Bytes become symbolic and as powerful as a good Viagra commercial. If you will notice the bytes are always two or three words. Moral Majority. War on Terror. Evil Empire. Axis of Evil.

Finally a government that doesn't use fear propaganda.

Sounds like a continuation of our nation falling to the out-of-control political correctness that has turned us all into pansies.

Way to make the 3000+ innocent lives lost on 9/11 seem replaceable. Because it wasn't an act of terrorism that happened that day, it was an unfortunate series of man-made disasters that occurred on US soil. Unbelievable that this stuff is considered news.

Getting rid of this Orwellian phrase is an exceptionally good idea. It forces government leaders to be specific about what they are doing, instead of having a nebulous, never-ending umbrella under which they can do anything.

This could be a cover up. Regardless, i like....

It's representative of this new administration trying to re brand our current problems and put more distance between themselves and the previous administration. Whatever we call it, it's still a enormously expensive (in human lives, not to mention the financial costs) and extremely challenging situation that has no easy end in sight.

Re-brand the war however you like, it doesn't change the reality of the insurmountable challenges in the region.

Terrific. Bytes are far more powerful than paragraphs especially in a Twittered world. Thank you.

Good post current89, wording and sound bites are more important than we think. I can honestly say you have posted some great posts and I'm trying to keep up with them. You are a very thoughtful person.