How many ways can one evoke war without actually saying the word “war”? President Obama has found quite a few euphemisms to use, instead of saying the dreaded “W” word.
According to Luke Brinker of Salon.com Obama has used all sorts of words to avoid saying “war.”
Brinker points out that “the president and his advisers have assiduously avoided uttering the word ‘war’ W-word to describe U.S. actions.”
Obama does use the word, of course, but it seems he uses it most when he is insisting what he will not do. But the President has at least five “special” words he uses frequently when he is talking about actions he will actually take.
Brinker goes on to list “effort,” “process,” “fight,” “campaign,” and “a moment of American leadership” as examples of terms the President has used in place of the “W” word.
But for someone who spent years running for president by criticizing the former president for his actions in Iraq and Afghanistan, Obama must find the word “war” sitting in his mouth like sour milk.
Salon isn’t the only outlet pointing out how hard Obama tries not to say things. This month, even The New Yorker pointed out that during his announcement of how he intended to deal with the Islamic State (ISIS), what Obama did not say was louder than what he did say.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston or email the author at igcolonel@hotmail.com.
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