Pentagon’s Chief of Strategic Planning Calls for Terror War Name Change

[kerrygoddess]

Pentagon’s Chief of Strategic Planning Calls for Terror War Name Change
September 6th, 2006 @ 12:34 am

While Bush was busy warning Americans of the enduring terror threat on Tuesday, the Pentagon’s chief of strategic planning was saying that the U.S. should “rethink the label it uses for what is known as the ‘global war on terror.’”

Hat tip to Ron for catching this story which got little to no play in the news Tuesday, with Bush’s battle cries being echoed in every major newspaper and on every network — terror… terror… terror! Stop already Dubya. You’re tactics aren’t working and people have been telling you this for years.

Army Col. Gary Cheek, the chief of strategic planning for the Pentagon told UPI Pentagon correspondent Pamela Hess, that “What is needed, is to recast terrorists as the criminals they are.” If calling the terrorists criminals sounds familiar it should. It’s something that John Kerry has been saying for years and his position on this is well detailed in his book, The New War.

Col. Gary Cheek said at the Defense Forum Washington, sponsored by the Marine Corps Association and the U.S. Naval Institute, “If we can change the name … and find the right sequence of events that allows us to do that, that changes the dynamic of the conflict.”

“It makes sense for us to find another name for the GWOT,” said Cheek. “It merits rethinking. I know our European allies are more comfortable articulating issues of terrorism as criminal threats, rather than war … It ought to be our goal to partner better with the European allies so we can migrate this from a war to something other than a war.”

The “war” moniker elevates al-Qaida and other transnational terrorists, giving them legitimacy as an opposition force to the United States. It also tends to alienate Muslim populations in other countries, who see the war as a war on Islam, and feel they need to support al-Qaida as a matter of defending their faith.

It also tends to frame the fight as one in which the Defense Department has the primary role, when it is becoming increasingly clear that the “long war” against global terrorism is going to be won on other fronts — economic, political, diplomatic, financial. Other government agencies and departments must become more engaged; only they have the expertise to help other countries take the actions necessary to defeat terrorists.

UPI reports that “Cheek’s idea is not a new one.” It makes practical sense to the military — but, “it is being floated at a politically inopportune time.” That of course is an understatement. With the battle royale being staged for the House and the Senate and the idea that a shift of power could be “possible after the midterm elections,” Cheek is pushing a concept that is anathema to BushCo.

MORE & LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=4090

[izzie]

1. I am sure their is a General at DOD that just does names

To bad the Battle of the Coral Sea and Battle for Passhendale are already used even if they are not sure if they were sexy sounding enough. They sound so good to me. And 'the War to end Wars' is done. Bet it was Fr, also. Bush's road to glory war? to long. Well a General at DOD will find a way to get this into our mind I am sure.

[acmejack]

2. The War To End Democracy?

War Against Democracy (WAD) has nice ring to it.

[kerrygoddess]

4. LOL

WAD sounds about right.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Everything's a 're-run' with these guys...tried that last year. 7/25/05

http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/07/26/news/terror.php

Washington recasts terror war as 'struggle'
By Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker The New York Times


WASHINGTON The Bush administration is retooling its slogan for the fight against Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups, pushing the idea that the long-term struggle is as much an ideological battle as a military mission, according to senior administration and military officials.


In recent speeches and news conferences, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and the country's top military officer have spoken of "a global struggle against violent extremism" rather than "the global war on terror," which had been the catchphrase of choice.


Administration officials say the earlier phrase may have outlived its usefulness, because it focused attention solely, and incorrectly, on the military campaign.


"It is more than just a military war on terror," Steven Hadley, the national security adviser, said in a telephone interview. "It's broader than that. It's a global struggle against extremism. We need to dispute both the gloomy vision and offer a positive alternative."

[Jack Rabbit]

5. Bush's War

Or maybe Cheney's War? The Halliburton War?