Nosey Online

You don't change slogans mid-war.

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.

General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the National Press Club on Monday that he had "objected to the use of the term 'war on terrorism' before, because if you call it a war, then you think of people in uniform as being the solution."

He said the threat instead should be defined as violent extremism, with the recognition that "terror is the method they use."

It's official; the Global War on Terror has now become the Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism (GSAVE). At least they've finally figured out that you can't declare war on a tactic. But what's the use of changing the slogan? If it ain't all about dropping nukes on brown people, the fat guy I saw yesterday at BP smoking a cigar while fueling his tricked-out-with-the-latest-Support-the-Troops-yellow-ribbon-bumper-magnet Hummer is just going to get confused.