Are We At War In Libya Or Not? (A Commentary)

White House Photo, Samantha Appleton, 3/25/11

Obama’s War On “War” -- Washington Times editorial

Administration tries hard to dodge the obvious.

What if they gave a war and nobody was allowed to say it? The debate over military action in Libya has lately taken an absurd twist, driven by the Obama administration’s bizarre unwillingness to call a war a war.

Everyone knows what is going on in Libya is a war, but the administration has placed a moratorium on plain English. Hence White House press secretary Jay Carney prefers to talk about a “time-limited, scope-limited military action,” which could actually describe most wars. And at a press briefing on Wednesday when Joint Task Force Odyssey Dawn Chief of Staff Rear Admiral Gerard Hueber was asked, “Do you consider yourself at war right now?” he said, expressionlessly, “we are carrying out the mission of the United Nations Security [Council] Resolution 1973 and the direction of the president in his speech.” Said one observer, “He has drunk the Kool Aid.”

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My Comment: Mark Steyn's observations on the White House use (or should I say non-use) of the 'war' word is also delicious to read. That link is here.