# The GWAT is now the "Long War"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [March 8, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575 "2006-03-08T20:13:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/1 "2006-03-08T20:13:09Z")
I missed this until Steve Colbert did a piece on it last night, but it appears the Admin has now changed the designation of the “Global War Against Terrorism” to the “Long War.” [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/02/AR2006020202296.html](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/02/AR2006020202296.html) Is this just more bafflespin, or does it signify some actual shift in strategic thinking within the Admin? ---
**Author:** ![smiling\_bandit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@smiling\_bandit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/smiling_bandit)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/2 "2006-03-08T20:19:36Z")
No real shift, and the name did not, IIRC, come from the administration. It does recognize that, regardless of what happens in Iraq or Afganistan, there’s going to be an immense amount of work in the future. Note that the idea of the Long War doesn’t neccessarily involve armed conflict. The idea is that cultural and idelogical changs to some of our enemies will take years, even decades. Much like the Cold War. Most of the Cold War was fought not with bullets with with ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/3 "2006-03-08T20:20:55Z")
“Long war” is easier to pronounce – and remember – than [global struggle against violent extremism.](http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/07/26/news/terror.php) ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/4 "2006-03-08T20:22:55Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > No real shift, and the name did not, IIRC, come from the administration. Then where did Rumsfeld pick it up? ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/5 "2006-03-08T20:27:21Z")
> [@smiling bandit](#): > > Note that the idea of the Long War doesn’t neccessarily involve armed conflict. With these idiots in charge ? Of course it does; all they care about is killing and profit. ---
**Author:** ![NurseCarmen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5daacb/32.png) [@NurseCarmen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NurseCarmen)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/6 "2006-03-08T21:39:05Z")
‘Long war’ covers more election cycles than GWAT. Fear keeps 'em voting. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/7 "2006-03-08T21:40:25Z")
The official term is still the Global War On Terrorism, GW **O** T. I know because I got the [medal.](http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2003/b03152003_bt121-03.html) The medal I received did not change from the GWOT expeditionary medal to the Long War expeditionary medal. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/8 "2006-03-08T21:49:19Z")
I seem to remember that “The Long War” was implied, if not directly stated, around Sept. 11, so it’s not new. I’m really no fan at all of this admistration, but this is hardly yawnworthy, in my eyes. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/9 "2006-03-08T21:58:09Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The official term is still the Global War On Terrorism, GW **O** T. I know because I got the [medal.](http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/2003/b03152003_bt121-03.html) Hmm. For some reason, they couldn’t fit the word “Global” on the medal. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/10 "2006-03-08T21:58:14Z")
Molly Ivins calls it “The War on Terra.” ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/11 "2006-03-08T22:01:45Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > I seem to remember that “The Long War” was implied, if not directly stated, around Sept. 11, so it’s not new. Cite? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/12 "2006-03-08T22:11:37Z")
I remember Cheney saying in the days or months after September 11th that it was a war his generation wouldn’t see the end of. I don’t remember hearing the phrase “The Long War” until a day or two ago. It puts me in mind of The Long March, which does not inspire confidence. Nor does the retreating quality of these names. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/13 "2006-03-08T22:23:30Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > It puts me in mind of The Long March, which does not inspire confidence. Why not? Mao **won!** (Of course, he started the Long March with 130,000 men and came out of it with 25,000 . . .) > **[Long March](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_March)** > > The Long March (Chinese: 长征; pinyin: Chángzhēng, lit. Long Expedition) was a military retreat undertaken by the Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the Kuomintang (KMT or Chinese Nationalist Party) army. There was not just one Long March, but a series of marches, as various Communist armies in the south escaped to the north and west. The best known is the march from Jiangxi province which began in October 1934 an... ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/14 "2006-03-08T22:26:57Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Cite? I don’t have one. This is what I remember. I see I’m not the only one, Per Marley23’s post. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2006, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/15 "2006-03-08T22:52:14Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Hmm. For some reason, they couldn’t fit the word “Global” on the medal. The name of the medal does not have to appear on the medal itself and many do not. No deeper meaning to it. A quick search will show you all of the medals that have ever been awarded. Some have writing, some don’t. Your hmms can be saved for something else. ---
**Author:** ![alaricthegoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alaricthegoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alaricthegoth)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/16 "2006-03-10T09:41:06Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > The name of the medal does not have to appear on the medal itself and many do not. No deeper meaning to it. A quick search will show you all of the medals that have ever been awarded. Some have writing, some don’t. Your hmms can be saved for something else. I realize that I am about to qualify myself as a low rent beavis (or butthead, take your pick) but I bet that before it was the G(lobal) W(ar) A(gainst) T(error) it was just T(he) W(ar) A(gainst) T(error). Query: Who was it who drew the short straw and had to go to the boss and say, “Um, Mr. President, about this acronym…” ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/17 "2006-03-10T14:02:50Z")
… We have always been at war with Oceania … ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/18 "2006-03-10T14:54:16Z")
And since we’ll be at war for a long and indefinite time, the President can claim unitary powers for as long as he likes. Any doubt that has a lot to do with the new terminology? ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/19 "2006-03-10T16:05:52Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > And since we’ll be at war for a long and indefinite time, the President can claim unitary powers for as long as he likes. Any doubt that has a lot to do with the new terminology? I have some doubt. There may be a bit of that, but I tend to think it’s more of a “get ready, America, you’re going to be in this quagmire for a loooonnnnng time.” You know, get us into a Winston Churchill state of mind: “We will never surrender.” Except I don’t think the number of people buying into this war is finally dwindling. ---
**Author:** ![kelly5078](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/6f9a4e/32.png) [@kelly5078](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kelly5078)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2006, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-gwat-is-now-the-long-war/347575/20 "2006-03-10T16:08:30Z")
And now I have to blow my long-awaited 1000th post on a correction. > [@me](#): > > Except I don’t think the number of people buying into this war is finally dwindling. Make that “do.” Shit.