--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: President Obama dropped the term 'war on…" description: "\"“President Obama dropped the term 'war on terror', and rightly so. Terrorism is not an enemy but a type of warfare that may or may not be adopted by an..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa0/george-friedman-7436_pearl-harbor_president-obama-dropped-the-term-war-on_1844844.png" --- # President Obama dropped the term 'war on terror', and… ![“President Obama dropped the term 'war on terror', and rightly so. Terrorism is not an enemy but a type of warfare that may or may not be adopted by an enemy. Imagine if, after Pearl Harbor, an attack that relied on aircraft carriers, President Roosevelt had declared a global war on naval aviation…” quote by George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa0/george-friedman-7436_pearl-harbor_president-obama-dropped-the-term-war-on_1844844.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa0/george-friedman-7436_pearl-harbor_president-obama-dropped-the-term-war-on_1844844.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aa0/george-friedman-7436_pearl-harbor_president-obama-dropped-the-term-war-on_1844844.png) > ““President Obama dropped the term 'war on terror', and rightly so. Terrorism is not an enemy but a type of warfare that may or may not be adopted by an enemy. Imagine if, after Pearl Harbor, an attack that relied on aircraft carriers, President Roosevelt had declared a global war on naval aviation. By focusing on terrorism instead of al Qaeda or radical Islam, Bush elevated a specific kind of assault to a position that shaped American global strategy, which left the United States strategically off-balance. Obama may have clarified the nomenclature, but he left in place a significant portion of the imbalance, which is an obsession with the threat of terrorist attacks. As we consider presidential options in the coming decade, it appears imperative that we clear up just how much of a threat terrorism actually presents and what that threat means for U.S. policy.”” [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The term “war on terror” mischaracterizes terrorism, leading to strategic imbalance by treating a tactic as an enemy. **In simple terms:** Labeling terrorism as a war creates policy distortion. Key Takeaway Reframe terrorism as a threat, not a war. Themes security policy terrorism strategy Mood analytical critical Type analytical policy When to use this quote - National security planning - counterterrorism policy - public discourse - military budgeting Key Concepts Geopolitics semantic framing strategic balance Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape security policy? - What alternative frameworks could improve strategic balance? A Different Perspective Focusing on terrorism can divert resources from other threats. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Pearl harbor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pearl-harbor/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [It is sort of interesting that in our society this days we are very quick to apply the term 'war' to places where thare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-schneier/it-is-sort-of-interesting-that-in-our-society-this-days-we-are-very/) [Bruce Schneier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-schneier/) > [I consider Bush's decision to call for a war against terrorism a serious mistake. He is elevating these criminals to the status of war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/i-consider-bush-s-decision-to-call-for-a-war-against-terrorism-a/) [Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/) > [As many critics have pointed, out, terrorism is not an enemy. It is a tactic. Because the United States itself has a long record…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-eldridge-odom/as-many-critics-have-pointed-out-terrorism-is-not-an-enemy-it-is-a/) William Eldridge Odom > [Behind every terrorist stand dozens of men and women, without whom he could not engage in terrorism. They are all enemy combatants, and their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayelet-shaked/behind-every-terrorist-stand-dozens-of-men-and-women-without-whom-he/) [Ayelet Shaked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayelet-shaked/) > [The threat of terrorism is not stronger than the will of the American people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaka-fattah/the-threat-of-terrorism-is-not-stronger-than-the-will-of-the-american/) [Chaka Fattah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaka-fattah/) > [Look, we constantly live looking at the issue of the threat of terrorism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-may/look-we-constantly-live-looking-at-the-issue-of-the-threat-of/) [Theresa May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-may/) > [I really see the U.S. staggering under the burden of three blows. One is 9/11 and the threat of terrorism, which is still huge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-alexander/i-really-see-the-u-s-staggering-under-the-burden-of-three-blows-one/) [Chris Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-alexander/) > [We have to decide why terrorism is a new threat. There has always been terrorism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/we-have-to-decide-why-terrorism-is-a-new-threat-there-has-always-been/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [President Obama has argued there isn't a threat of terrorism from the U.S. refugee program because for individuals who apply it takes two years,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-pavlich/president-obama-has-argued-there-isn-t-a-threat-of-terrorism-from-the/) [Katie Pavlich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-pavlich/) > [I take the threat of terrorism very seriously, and no one is more committed to hunting down terrorists and bringing them to justice, wherever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-reid/i-take-the-threat-of-terrorism-very-seriously-and-no-one-is-more/) [Harry Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-reid/) > [During the 1990s, world leaders looked at the mounting threat of terrorism, looked up, looked away, and hoped the problem would go away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boehner/during-the-1990s-world-leaders-looked-at-the-mounting-threat-of/) [John Boehner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boehner/) > [ Perhaps worse still is what liberal societies might do to themselves in the face of this new and different threat \[of terrorism\]. They begin,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/perhaps-worse-still-is-what-liberal-societies-might-do-to-themselves/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [“The safety gap is so large, in fact, that planes would still be safer than cars even if the threat of terrorism were unimaginably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-gardner/the-safety-gap-is-so-large-in-fact-that-planes-would-still-be-safer/) [Daniel Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-gardner/) > [ “I was right outside the NSA \[on 9/11\], so I remember the tension on that day. I remember hearing on the radio, 'the plane's… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/i-was-right-outside-the-nsa-on-9-11-so-i-remember-the-tension-on-that/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [I think that all countries of the region should join their efforts in the fight against a common threat - terrorism in general and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/i-think-that-all-countries-of-the-region-should-join-their-efforts-in/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) ## More by George Friedman > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. Al Qaeda and terrorism or one such threat, but it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-threats-that-resurfaced-in-the-past-10-years-were-not-an/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [“In Geo-Politics, a nation has no permanent allies or permanent enemies, only permanent interests.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/in-geo-politics-a-nation-has-no-permanent-allies-or-permanent-enemies/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [Galvanized people can do careless things. It is in the extreme and emotion-laden moments that distance and coolness are most required. I am tempted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/galvanized-people-can-do-careless-things-it-is-in-the-extreme-and/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [Assad's mother was a terror. He was terrified of her and she kept saying to him, you're not like your father. That's interesting, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/assad-s-mother-was-a-terror-he-was-terrified-of-her-and-she-kept/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [The Chinese have a long history of slaughtering each other without bothering their neighbors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-chinese-have-a-long-history-of-slaughtering-each-other-without/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [Italy spills over to everything. Italy is a huge banking system. It has been the major banking system in Eastern Europe. It's worked with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/italy-spills-over-to-everything-italy-is-a-huge-banking-system-it-has/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [If you go through the list of things that are not possible you're left with a very finite amount of possibilities. The fancy name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/if-you-go-through-the-list-of-things-that-are-not-possible-you-re/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [But every time new powers emerge they have to find their balance. New powers are emerging, old powers are declining. It's not that process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/but-every-time-new-powers-emerge-they-have-to-find-their-balance-new/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [ We cannot anticipate the moral circumstances under which we will live. And therefore \[I refuse\] to say that I will not live in a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/we-cannot-anticipate-the-moral-circumstances-under-which-we-will-live/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [“While you and I are allowed the luxury of our pain, president isn't. A president must take into account how his citizens feel and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/while-you-and-i-are-allowed-the-luxury-of-our-pain-president-isn-t-a/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [ War is an extraordinary condition to be in - to be, for example, in the combat information center of a warship \[and behaving\] as… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/war-is-an-extraordinary-condition-to-be-in-to-be-for-example-in-the/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [When you're young and going to war, it's a genuinely exciting moment. You are going to risk yourself. On the battlefield, you are suddenly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/when-you-re-young-and-going-to-war-it-s-a-genuinely-exciting-moment/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [“The Fifth Commandment of the Decalogue demands that one honor one's mother and father. That is not about calling home. It is about this:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-fifth-commandment-of-the-decalogue-demands-that-one-honor-one-s/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [If you lose yourself to rage in the complexity of battle, you are going to be lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/if-you-lose-yourself-to-rage-in-the-complexity-of-battle-you-are/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [Constraint theory asks: What is the price for doing this? Now one way around constraint theory is declaring your enemy crazy. Crazy and stupid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/constraint-theory-asks-what-is-the-price-for-doing-this-now-one-way/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) [Explore all 91 George Friedman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) ## More Pearl harbor quotes > [The crisis of our diminishing water resources is just as severe (if less obviously immediate) as any wartime crisis we have ever faced. Our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-wright/the-crisis-of-our-diminishing-water-resources-is-just-as-severe-if/) Jim Wright > [I never slept as soundly as the night following Pearl Harbor. For I knew that The American Race would now be entering the war…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-never-slept-as-soundly-as-the-night-following-pearl-harbor-for-i/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [Until the attack on Pearl Harbor, isolationism was an important, even dominant strand in U.S. politics. After the Second World War, this strand disappeared,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-applebaum/until-the-attack-on-pearl-harbor-isolationism-was-an-important-even/) [Anne Applebaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-applebaum/) > [If liberals had been in charge of the Arizona memorial, it would probably have featured an exhaustive exhibit about the internment of Japanese Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mona-charen/if-liberals-had-been-in-charge-of-the-arizona-memorial-it-would/) [Mona Charen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mona-charen/) > [ “He \[Ted Williams\] was only a 23-year-old kid when he batted .406 in 1941, but then the season ended and our country came under… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tucker-elliot/he-ted-williams-was-only-a-23-year-old-kid-when-he-batted-406-in-1941/) [Tucker Elliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tucker-elliot/) > [In the time just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor, when Perfidia opens, we were pre-psychologized. There were no concepts of identity, no politics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-ellroy/in-the-time-just-before-the-bombing-of-pearl-harbor-when-perfidia/) [James Ellroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-ellroy/) > [I was in Shanghai when the Japanese invaded China. I was there in Shanghai when, the morning after Pearl Harbor, they seized Shanghai.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-g-ballard/i-was-in-shanghai-when-the-japanese-invaded-china-i-was-there-in/) [J. G. Ballard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-g-ballard/) > [“TF-16 returned to Pearl Harbor on May 26 in good order, with one huge exception: Admiral Halsey, the sixty-year-old commander, arrived back completely exhausted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-a-jenkins/tf-16-returned-to-pearl-harbor-on-may-26-in-good-order-with-one-huge/) [Dale A. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-a-jenkins/) > [“On the afternoon of August 9, hearing the news that Nagasaki had been bombed, Emperor Hirohito called an imperial conference at which his ministers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-weller/on-the-afternoon-of-august-9-hearing-the-news-that-nagasaki-had-been/) George Weller > [“Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bluto-in-animal-house/was-it-over-when-the-germans-bombed-pearl-harbor/) Bluto in Animal House > [“In the history of warfare, a succession of bold ideas and weapons had promised to curb the tyranny of distance. The horse and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-blainey/in-the-history-of-warfare-a-succession-of-bold-ideas-and-weapons-had/) [Geoffrey Blainey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-blainey/) > [Pearl Harbor is strenuously respectful of contemporary sensitivities, sometimes at the cost of accuracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-o-scott/pearl-harbor-is-strenuously-respectful-of-contemporary-sensitivities/) [A. O. Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-o-scott/) > [I sincerely desire to be appointed Commander in Chief of the air fleet to attack Pearl Harbor so that I may personally command that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isoroku-yamamoto/i-sincerely-desire-to-be-appointed-commander-in-chief-of-the-air/) [Isoroku Yamamoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isoroku-yamamoto/) > [I was 20 years old at Pearl Harbor. I was in the Navy about a year and four months before the war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-ross/i-was-20-years-old-at-pearl-harbor-i-was-in-the-navy-about-a-year-and/) [Barney Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-ross/) > [“She was a small cat, barely five pounds of black chinchilla fur and fangs, but Pearl Harbor envied her air-raid vocalizations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhys-ford/she-was-a-small-cat-barely-five-pounds-of-black-chinchilla-fur-and/) [Rhys Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhys-ford/) [Browse all 159 Pearl harbor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pearl-harbor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“President Obama dropped the term 'war on terror', and rightly so. Terrorism is not an enemy but a type of warfare that may or may not be adopted by an enemy. 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