“War On Terror” No Longer The Phrase That Pays

With a new mindset in DC, and an attempt to mend fences with our fellow earthlings, it is becoming less accepted to use “War on Terror” as a catchphrase.  President Obama uses phrases such as “the enduring struggle against terrorism and extremism” and the “ongoing struggle.”  The goal is to lose the implication that or struggles are against a particular religion or culture.

Ultimately and perhaps inadvertently, however, the phrase “became associated in the minds of many people outside the Unites States and particularly in places where the countries are largely Islamic and Arab, as being anti-Islam and anti-Arab,” said Anthony Cordesman, a national security analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

Cowboy rhetoric such as they’re “either with us or against us”, “bring ’em on” and “dead or alive” is fine for a gunslinger-in-chief, but not for the leader of the Western world who seeks to unite not only America, but also the planet.  “Wars on” concepts can’t be won, whether it’s the “war on crime”, the “war on drugs” or the “war on poverty”.  Last I checked, all three of those exist in uncomfortable numbers and the declared “wars” didn’t eradicate them.  Words have meanings, and present images.  As we change the image of America, I’m happy to see the overheated rhetoric change as well.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.