No More War On Terror

Over the weekend the AP noticed that under President Obama, usage of the term 'war on terror' was fading out:

Since taking office less than two weeks ago, President Barack Obama has talked broadly of the "enduring struggle against terrorism and extremism." Another time it was an "ongoing struggle."

He has pledged to "go after" extremists and "win this fight." There even was an oblique reference to a "twilight struggle" as the U.S. relentlessly pursues those who threaten the country.

But only once since his Jan. 20 inauguration has Obama publicly strung those three words together into the explosive phrase that coalesced the country during its most terrifying time and eventually came to define the Bush administration.

Only once, during his speech to the State Department on January 22 has Obama used the words 'war', 'on', and 'terror' consecutively. This is good news if, like me, you think the idea of a war on an adjective is unwinnable. But the shift from a war on al-Qaeda to an "enduring struggle" against a network of loosely-affiliated extremist groups is a pretty big one, in word if not deed. Don't expect the 'war on terror' to be over any time soon.