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Richard GainesApril 03, 2009
A Kinder, Gentler War on Terror?
[SEE ALSO: http://www.thebutter-cutter.com/The_Butter-Cutter_s_LATEST.php]
By David Gayvert
Debate over the term, "Global War on Terrorism" (GWOT) has been going on in defense circles ever since the Bush Administration coined it in the wake of 9/11. Heretofore, disagreement has focused largely on whether the GWOT moniker and the sometimes synonymously used "Long War" accurately describe the proper focus of the conflict. Although with many variations, there have been two general criticisms. The first is that a lack of precision in defining the enemy allows for a similar imprecision in determining how he must be fought and defeated; to wit, that a war on terrorism (a tactic) does not identify the real strategic enemy-e.g., violent Islamic extremism.[i] The second argues that the use of the term "war" is inappropriate and even illegitimate, used to justify a host of activities against individuals and groups who are not akin to soldiers, but instead are mere criminals, and thus must be dealt with within the structures and strictures of the criminal justice system.[ii]
Now, for reasons not clearly tied to either strain of objection, the Obama administration has decreed that the GWOT indeed is history. Military actions in Afghanistan and Pakistan henceforth will be referred to as "Overseas Contingency Operations."
At the same time, we learn from Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that acts of terrorism will no longer be called such, and instead be termed "man-caused disasters."
And in its rush to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility, the Justice Department has indicated that it will discontinue use of "enemy combatant" -- a legally defined status[iii] -- to refer to well, enemy combatants. The new label for such detainees is still TBD; look for something like, "involuntary guest," or "person understandably mad at America" (PUMA-sorry Hillary).
In all seriousness however, the move to create designations for our enemies and their inhumane a -
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