HILLARY SPEAKS - AT 5:23 P.M. ET: 

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) -- Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the Obama administration has indeed abandoned the term ''global war on terror.''

Clinton says that while she hasn't seen any specific orders, the new administration in Washington simply isn't using the phrase.

The term was a rallying cry for President George Bush after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. But the use of the term ''global war on terror'' is widely disliked overseas.

COMMENT:  It is widely disliked overseas, so therefore we will not use it.  Well, democracy is widely disliked in a large chunk of the Muslim world.  Maybe we should abandon that, too.  After all, we'd be showing respect.  Right?

The fact that "global war on terror" defines the issue well is, of course, of no significance with this new, ultra-elitist crowd.  I mean, who are we to question other cultures?

March 30, 2009