It’s over. The War on Terrorism, that is. At least as a term to be used by generals and secretaries of defense (though presidents still maintain a nostalgic preference for it). It’s been supplanted by “global struggle against violent extremism,” which doesn’t even make for a cool acronymn.

George Lakoff parses out what this change in tag line means for the framers of the news on AlterNet.

It is important to note the date on which the phrase “war on terror” died and was replaced by “global struggle against violent extremism.” It was right after the London bombing. Using the War frame to think and talk about terrorism was becoming more difficult. The Iraq War was declared won and over, but it became clear that it was far from over and not at all won and that it created many new terrorists for every one it destroyed. The last justification – fighting the war on terror in Iraq so it wouldn’t have to be fought at home — died in the London bombing.

Which inspired the following meter-tortured limerick:

There once was a War on Terror,
Till the gubmint said that was an error.
We left behind fervent militarism
For global struggle against violent extremism,
Sounds better, unless you’re a stretcher-bearer.

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