Why Language Matters In The Fight Against Islamic State

GREETING TROOPS

President Barack Obama greets troops and thanks them for their service as Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, far left, does the same at the Pentagon, Oct. 8, 2014. Obama visited the Pentagon to meet with Hagel and combatant commanders to discuss the ongoing fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL. DoD Photo by Glenn Fawcett

'War' Or 'Armed Conflict'? Why Words Matter In The Fight Against Islamic State -- Stars and Stripes/Washington Post

WASHINGTON — When is a war not a war? Does it matter, when a bomb is dropped or a missile launched, whether it's called "counterterrorism," or "armed conflict," or "hostilities"?

Actually, it does — especially to a president who has said he wants to keep American military action within the bounds of U.S. and international law, and to administration officials who have spent countless hours in recent weeks parsing the language used to describe operations in Syria.

It matters to the American people, who have said in surveys that they favor airstrikes against Islamic State militants in both Syria and Iraq but aren't much interested in fighting another Middle East ground war. It also matters to Congress, which has not authorized a war since World War II but may decide to approve this specific "use of military force."

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My Comment: This is one of my "beefs" with this administration. I know that political correctness based on political considerations is how they have been (and are) framing many of their policy announcements .... and the war against radical Islam has been on the top of that list.