'Global War On Terror' Is Given New Name

[Warrior-Mentor]

Washington Post
March 25, 2009
Pg. 4

'Global War On Terror' Is Given New Name

Bush's Phrase Is Out, Pentagon Says

By Scott Wilson and Al Kamen, Washington Post Staff Writers

The Obama administration appears to be backing away from the phrase "global war on terror," a signature rhetorical legacy of its predecessor.

In a memo e-mailed this week to Pentagon staff members, the Defense Department's office of security review noted that "this administration prefers to avoid using the term 'Long War' or 'Global War on Terror' [GWOT.] Please use 'Overseas Contingency Operation.' "

The memo said the direction came from the Office of Management and Budget, the executive-branch agency that reviews the public testimony of administration officials before it is delivered.

Not so, said Kenneth Baer, an OMB spokesman.

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

Coincidentally or not, senior administration officials had been publicly using the phrase "overseas contingency operations" in a war context for roughly a month before the e-mail was sent.

Peter Orszag, the OMB director, turned to it Feb. 26 when discussing Obama's budget proposal at a news conference: "The budget shows the combined cost of operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and any other overseas contingency operations that may be necessary."

And in congressional testimony last week, Craig W. Duehring, assistant secretary of the Air Force for manpower, said, "Key battlefield monetary incentives has allowed the Air Force to meet the demands of overseas contingency operations even as requirements continue to grow."

Monday's Pentagon e-mail was prompted by congressional testimony that Lt. Gen. John W. Bergman, head of the Marine Forces Reserve, intends to give today. The memo advised Pentagon personnel to "please pass this onto your speechwriters and try to catch this change before statements make it to OMB."

Baer said, "I have no reason to believe that ['global war on terror'] would be stricken" from future congressional testimony.

The Bush administration adopted the phrase soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to capture the scope of the threat it perceived and the military operations that would be required to confront it.

In an address to Congress nine days after the attacks, President George W. Bush said, "Our war on terror will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated."

But critics abroad and at home, including some within the U.S. military, said the terminology mischaracterized the nature of the enemy and its abilities. Some military officers said, for example, that classifying al-Qaeda and other anti-American militant groups as part of a single movement overstated their strength.

Early in Bush's second term, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld promoted a change in wording to "global struggle against violent extremism," or GSAVE. Bush rejected the shift and never softened his position that "global war" accurately describes the conflict that the United States is fighting.

Last month, the International Commission of Jurists urged the Obama administration to drop the phrase "war on terror." The commission said the term had given the Bush administration "spurious justification to a range of human rights and humanitarian law violations," including detention practices and interrogation methods that the International Committee of the Red Cross has described as torture.

John A. Nagl, the former Army officer who helped write the military's latest counterinsurgency field manual, said the phrase "was enormously unfortunate because I think it pulled together disparate organizations and insurgencies."

"Our strategy should be to divide and conquer rather than make of enemies more than they are," said Nagl, now president of the Center for a New American Security, a defense policy think tank in Washington. "We are facing a number of different insurgencies around the globe -- some have local causes, some of them are transnational. Viewing them all through one lens distorts the picture and magnifies the enemy."

[Dozer523]

Originally Posted by Warrior-Mentor

members, the Defense Department's office of security review noted that "this administration prefers to avoid using the term 'Long War' or 'Global War on Terror' [GWOT.] Please use 'Overseas Contingency Operation.' "
The memo said the direction came from the Office of Management and Budget, the executive-branch agency that reviews the public testimony of administration officials before it is delivered. Not so, said Kenneth Baer, an OMB spokesman. "There was no memo, no guidance," Baer said yesterday. "This is the opinion of a career civil servant."

If this isn't true, does that mean there won't be a new ribbon?

[afchic]

Originally Posted by Dozer523

If this isn't true, does that mean there won't be a new ribbon?

I wonder how many performance reports are in the works right now that are going to be sent back to change GWOT to OCO????? Imagine the waste of manhours. I can hear secretaries and execs screaming!!!

[TOMAHAWK9521]

What about all the Overseas Primary, Alternate and Emergency Operations?

[RT AXE 10]

Overseas Contingency Operations, more like Overseas Clueless Operations. Sounds like a fall back plan in case we don't/can't win a war. All the funding is going else where. Save your ammo.

[cornelyj]

Seems like a new name for the same game to me...

The Bush administration adopted the phrase soon after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to capture the scope of the threat it perceived and the military operations that would be required to confront it.

So the threat has changed now or what?

except soon everyone will be asking ::wheres all the money?::

soon after that the question will be ::why is all the Rum gone?::

[afchic]

Originally Posted by cornelyj

Seems like a new name for the same game to me...
So the threat has changed now or what?

except soon everyone will be asking ::wheres all the money?::

soon after that the question will be ::why is all the Rum gone?::

There are a lot of people that think the scope of the threat has changed, unfortunately. It used to be that if you could link your program to the GWOT, you were sure to get funding. There were a lot of people sitting fat, dumb and happy because of it. Things that had been undfunded for years were finally seeing the necessary money to keep the program afloat.

I have been sitting in our PEM parade for the past two weeks. Gone are the days of tying things to GWOT and hoping to get money. Now, at least for us at this level, it is tying it to the nuclear mission.

Money is tight out there folks, and it just got a whole hell of a lot tighter. It scares me to think of what we are pushing down the road, because the funds just aren't there anymore.

[Go Devil]

George Orwell was so right.

[TOMAHAWK9521]

So we now have "man-caused disasters" taking place in Overseas Contingency Operations. As if the rest of America wasn't involved in the conflict to begin with. This just glosses over the realities of the outside world even more so. Pretty soon, anytime some news is able to pop up about the war the sheep will start asking, "Wait, that thing is still going on? Didn't Obama fix that a couple months ago?"

[Box]

The Overseas Contingency Operation to Peacefully interact with supporters of man-caused disasters.

ps.. I really love you guys
every one of you.

[Red Flag 1]

Originally Posted by RT AXE 10

Overseas Contingency Operations, more like Overseas Clueless Operations. Sounds like a fall back plan in case we don't/can't win a war. All the funding is going else where. Save your ammo.

OCO fixes everything.
I will sleep well tonight

RF 1

[Richard]

OCO...is that an acronym for COO? Or maybe they're just tired of fighting all those seemingly unending wars - War on Poverty, War on Inflation, War on Drugs, War on Illiteracy, etc. The more things change...

Richard's $.02

[echoes]

Originally Posted by Warrior-Mentor

Last month, the International Commission of Jurists urged the Obama administration to drop the phrase "war on terror."
The commission said the term had given the Bush administration "spurious justification to a range of human rights and humanitarian law violations," including detention practices and interrogation methods that the International Committee of the Red Cross has described as torture.

After researching these folks, it is no wonder they "urged" the change. Can the current Administration be so lacking in mental capacity, that They fell for this crap? Am guessing so! Or...can we all say, Agenda!

The current Administration may want all Americans to just nod yes-sir, walk-on and forget the savage Terrorists who attacked US on 9-11, killing Americans on American soil... but He is mistaken if He thinks that is EVER going to happen!

We will NEVER forget!

Holly

http://www.icj.org/rubrique.php3?id_rubrique=13&lang=en

"The International Commission of Jurists is comprised of up to sixty lawyers (including senior judges, attorneys and academics) dedicated to ensuring respect for international human rights standards through the law. Commissioners are known for their experience, knowledge and fundamental commitment to human rights.
The composition of the Commission aims to reflect the geographical diversity of the world and its many legal systems."

Executive Committee:

Prof. Vojin DIMITRIJEVIC, Serbia
Justice Unity DOW, Botswana
Dr. Gustavo GALLÓN GIRALDO, Colombia
Mr Stellan GÄRDE, Sweden
Prof. Robert GOLDMAN, United States
Dr. Pedro NIKKEN, Venezuela
Justice Michèle RIVET, Canada
Mr Raji SOURANI, Palestine
Prof. Leila ZERROUGUI, Algeria

Other Commission Members:

Mr. Muhand AL-HASSANI, Syria
Mr. Ghanim ALNAJJAR, Kuwait
Mr Raja AZIZ ADDRUSE, Malaysia
Prof. Abdullahi AN-NA'IM, Sudan
Justice Solomy BALUNGI BOSSA, Uganda

[Gypsy]

Originally Posted by Billy L-bach

The Overseas Contingency Operation to Peacefully interact with supporters of man-caused disasters.

ps.. I really love you guys
every one of you.

Do you know if anyone has a sale on Birkenstocks this weekend?

[TOMAHAWK9521]

Originally Posted by Gypsy

Do you know if anyone has a sale on Birkenstocks this weekend?

I'm sure there's at least 2 or three down in Boulder