The Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism

Back in October I wrote about the phrase "war on terror", and just how ridiculous it was.

This week we hear that the Bush administration has decided to stop using the phrase "global war on terror" and start using the phrase "global struggle against violent extremism".

While I snicker at yet another governmental attempt to change the perception of what is going on and how the administration has done in the fight against terrorist cells, I can't help but applaud the change of wording. "War on terror" was simply Bushspeak at its worst. The new phrase is clearly closer to what this is all about. Bush knows that if this is a war, it is going to be unwinnable, despite how that admission might play with his base. He also knows that unending wars, as this war would be, are not popular, as the poll numbers increasingly indicate. This is definitely a struggle, and one that will be going on for years and years. Calling the enemy violent extremists gets away from the debate of who are terrorists, who are insurgents, and who are self proclaimed "freedom fighters".

With the nomination of Karen Hughes as our ambassador to the world of the good ol' American Way of Life, and the Pentagon's desire to re-frame the fight away from the battlefield and soldiers and to the hearts and minds of the global community, there seems to finally be an acceptance that no amount of U.S. fire power is going to solve this problem, and that we must find ways to demonstrate how apple pie and baseball can peacefully co-exist with Islamic and other cultures.