thedrifter
04-25-07, 06:41 AM
U.S. commander orders quick end to "long war"
By Andrew Gray
Tue Apr 24, 5:27 PM ET
The U.S. military's Central Command has stopped calling its fight with Islamist militants the "long war" and says the change reflects its aim of reducing troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan over time.
Gen. John Abizaid, the previous head of Central Command, coined the phrase to stress that the broader conflict with militants would not end with the current wars and the term has been widely used by senior U.S. officials and commanders.
President George W. Bush used the phrase in his State of the Union address last year.
"Our own generation is in a long war against a determined enemy," he said.
But Abizaid's successor, Adm. William Fallon, has decided the term sends the wrong message to the Middle East, the area covered by his headquarters, by suggesting intense combat with many U.S. troops will continue there for a long time to come.
"The idea that we are going to be involved in a 'Long War', at the current level of operations, is not likely and unhelpful," Lt. Col Matt McLaughlin, a Central Command spokesman, said in an e-mail message on Tuesday.
"We remain committed to our friends and allies in the region and to countering al Qaeda-inspired extremism where it manifests itself, but one of our goals is to lessen our presence over time," he said.
"We didn't feel that the term 'Long War' captured this nuance," McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin said Central Command, based in Tampa, Florida, had "moved away" from the phrase in the last two weeks. He said Fallon, who took command last month, ordered the change after a recommendation by staff.
The shift is in keeping with public comments by Fallon, who has said that he is not a patient man, that time is short in Iraq and he wants to see results.
The move, first reported by the Tampa Tribune newspaper, also reflects the difficulties the United States and other Western nations have had in defining the conflict with al Qaeda and other militants after the September 11 attacks.
Bush adopted the phrase "war on terror" but European and other states have avoided it, believing it suggests a narrow military campaign when major diplomatic, political, economic and crimefighting efforts are also needed to be successful.
Despite his public differences with some European countries, Donald Rumsfeld also disliked the term and its variants when he was defense secretary.
"I think that it is really a long struggle as opposed to a war, which implies armies, navies, air forces and marines contesting each other," he said in December.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Fallon's concern was "completely appropriate" but would not predict if other officials would also modify their language.
While dismissing the "long war," Central Command has not yet offered an alternative.
"We continue to look for other options to characterize the scope of current operations," McLaughlin said.
Ellie
By Andrew Gray
Tue Apr 24, 5:27 PM ET
The U.S. military's Central Command has stopped calling its fight with Islamist militants the "long war" and says the change reflects its aim of reducing troop levels in Iraq and Afghanistan over time.
Gen. John Abizaid, the previous head of Central Command, coined the phrase to stress that the broader conflict with militants would not end with the current wars and the term has been widely used by senior U.S. officials and commanders.
President George W. Bush used the phrase in his State of the Union address last year.
"Our own generation is in a long war against a determined enemy," he said.
But Abizaid's successor, Adm. William Fallon, has decided the term sends the wrong message to the Middle East, the area covered by his headquarters, by suggesting intense combat with many U.S. troops will continue there for a long time to come.
"The idea that we are going to be involved in a 'Long War', at the current level of operations, is not likely and unhelpful," Lt. Col Matt McLaughlin, a Central Command spokesman, said in an e-mail message on Tuesday.
"We remain committed to our friends and allies in the region and to countering al Qaeda-inspired extremism where it manifests itself, but one of our goals is to lessen our presence over time," he said.
"We didn't feel that the term 'Long War' captured this nuance," McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin said Central Command, based in Tampa, Florida, had "moved away" from the phrase in the last two weeks. He said Fallon, who took command last month, ordered the change after a recommendation by staff.
The shift is in keeping with public comments by Fallon, who has said that he is not a patient man, that time is short in Iraq and he wants to see results.
The move, first reported by the Tampa Tribune newspaper, also reflects the difficulties the United States and other Western nations have had in defining the conflict with al Qaeda and other militants after the September 11 attacks.
Bush adopted the phrase "war on terror" but European and other states have avoided it, believing it suggests a narrow military campaign when major diplomatic, political, economic and crimefighting efforts are also needed to be successful.
Despite his public differences with some European countries, Donald Rumsfeld also disliked the term and its variants when he was defense secretary.
"I think that it is really a long struggle as opposed to a war, which implies armies, navies, air forces and marines contesting each other," he said in December.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Fallon's concern was "completely appropriate" but would not predict if other officials would also modify their language.
While dismissing the "long war," Central Command has not yet offered an alternative.
"We continue to look for other options to characterize the scope of current operations," McLaughlin said.
Ellie