Agence France-Presse,
Washington DC (AFP): The commander of US military operations in the Middle East, Admiral William Fallon, has decided to drop the phrase “long war” to describe the US struggle against terrorism, a defense spokesman said on Tuesday.
The phrase was introduced by Fallon's predecessor, General John Abizaid, to convey the scale of a lengthy political and military conflict against Islamic extremists, with similarities to the Cold War.
But the new US commander for the Middle East was concerned about how the message was perceived in the region, the Pentagon said, and wanted to stress the US presence in Iraq was not indefinite.
“I think admiral Fallon has expressed the desire to be more precise with certain terminology … and to be sensitive to the way in which people in different parts of the world interpret what we are saying,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.
“With respect to the ideological struggle, that's going to be a long endeavor, with respect to the higher-intensity combat operations that are taking place in places like Iraq that is not an open-ended endeavor,” he said.
The US military wants to make clear “the difference between the broader war that is taking place against terrorists worldwide and our operations that are taking place in places like Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said.
But he said retiring the “long war” phrase did not mean the Iraq war was not considered a part of the fight against terrorism.
“Clearly, Iraq and Afghanistan are places where the coalition is engaged against terrorist threats and activities. That is part of the broader global war on terror,” he said.
The New York Times reported Tuesday that cultural advisers in Fallon's command were concerned the phrase could alienate Middle East audiences by implying the US military would remain in Iraq for many years.
President George W. Bush and other members of the US administration have used the phrase.
Last year the White House stopped using “stay the course” to describe its Iraq war strategy after criticism it had failed to adapt to the conflict.
In 2005, the Pentagon proposed replacing the phrase “war on terror” with the “global struggle against violent extremism” but the president objected.
