Yeah, Right, Whatever

Over the last few days, you may have heard that the Bush administration was moving away from the phrase "Global War on Terror" to something less... warlike. Well, it looks likes the President either didn't get the memo or finally brought out the veto pen.

A couple months ago, our colleague, Susan B. Glasser , reported that the Bush administration was undertaking a major review of its strategy on counterterrorism, and that officials wanted to change the name GWOT to something like GSAVE -- Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism. That would take into account the changed nature of the battle against international terrorism....

In fact, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld 10 days ago spoke about a "global struggle against violent extremism [GSAVE]."

Apparently nobody told President Bush . At a White House meeting of senior officials Monday, Johnson wrote, "Bush reportedly said he was not in favor of the new term . . . In fact, he said, 'no one checked with me.' That comment brought an uncomfortable silence to the assembled group of pooh-bahs. The president insisted it was still a war as far as he is concerned."

"Uncomfortable silence"... that's just funny... this is one president that you just don't forget to consult about the big stuff... they should know better by now. This president hands over responsibility to those he trusts... but he's a hands-on kind of guy.

Besides... "global stuggle against violent extremism" just sounds goofy. It's not a "stuggle"- it's a war... against Islamofacists. Extremist Quakers are not a problem for us. One does not struggle against a group that wants to destroy you. One wages war for the sake of survival.

So... just to make sure everyone's on the same page... this is a WAR on Terror... not a Struggle... not a Skirmish... not even a Spat. It's a WAR.