--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The core distortion of the War on Terror…" description: "\"The core distortion of the War on Terror under both Bush and Obama is the Orwellian practice of equating government accusations of terrorism with proof..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/glenn-greenwald-1215_accusation_the-core-distortion-of-the-war-on-terror_1839559.jpg" --- # The core distortion of the War on Terror under both Bush… ![“The core distortion of the War on Terror under both Bush and Obama is the Orwellian practice of equating government accusations of terrorism with proof of guilt. One constantly hears U.S. government defenders referring to 'terrorists' when what they actually mean is: those accused by the…” quote by Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/glenn-greenwald-1215_accusation_the-core-distortion-of-the-war-on-terror_1839559.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/glenn-greenwald-1215_accusation_the-core-distortion-of-the-war-on-terror_1839559.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/182/glenn-greenwald-1215_accusation_the-core-distortion-of-the-war-on-terror_1839559.jpg) > “The core distortion of the War on Terror under both Bush and Obama is the Orwellian practice of equating government accusations of terrorism with proof of guilt. One constantly hears U.S. government defenders referring to 'terrorists' when what they actually mean is: those accused by the government of terrorism.” [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that labeling accused individuals as “terrorists” presumes guilt without evidence, undermining due process. **In simple terms:** Calling accused people terrorists assumes they are guilty. Key Takeaway Question language and demand evidence. Themes justice media politics human rights Mood critical concerned Type analytical political When to use this quote - legal defense - journalism - policy analysis - public debate Key Concepts presumption of guilt semantic framing due process Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape public perception of guilt? - What safeguards can prevent misuse of “terrorist” labels? A Different Perspective The claim may overlook legitimate security concerns and the difficulty of proving innocence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Accusation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accusation/) [Accusations Terrorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accusations-terrorism-2338342/) [Accused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accused/) [Accused Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accused-government-2338344/) [Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actually/) [Both](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/both/) [Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bush/) [Constantly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constantly/) [Core](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/core/) [Defenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defenders/) [Distortion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distortion/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Government Accusations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-accusations-2338343/) [Government Terrorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government-terrorism-2338345/) [Guilt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guilt/) [Hears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hears/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obama/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Practice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/practice/) [Proof](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proof/) [Referring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/referring/) [Referring Terrorists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/referring-terrorists-2338346/) [Terror](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terror/) [Terrorism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrorism/) [Terrorists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrorists/) [Those](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/those/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [To the government, terrorism committed by people who happen to be Muslim is not in any way a reflection of legitimate interpretation of Islam.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/to-the-government-terrorism-committed-by-people-who-happen-to-be/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [To the government, terrorism committed by people who are Muslim is not a reflection on the legitimate interpretation of Islam, even if Islamic supremacist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/to-the-government-terrorism-committed-by-people-who-are-muslim-is-not/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Whistleblowers are typically rendered incommunicado, either because they're in hiding, or advised by their lawyers to stay silent, or imprisoned. As a result, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/whistleblowers-are-typically-rendered-incommunicado-either-because/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [An empty belly hears nobody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/proverb/an-empty-belly-hears-nobody/) [Proverb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/proverb/) > [“If one hears the call of the open places, why shall he not answer it as fully as he may while eyes will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bradford-angier/if-one-hears-the-call-of-the-open-places-why-shall-he-not-answer-it/) [Bradford Angier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bradford-angier/) > [“lET HIM MARCH TO THE MUSIC HE HEARS”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/let-him-march-to-the-music-he-hears/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Everybody hears, but few listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-knight/everybody-hears-but-few-listen/) [Bobby Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-knight/) > [He who hears not me but the logos will say: All is one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heraclitus/he-who-hears-not-me-but-the-logos-will-say-all-is-one/) [Heraclitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heraclitus/) > [We are the party that hears the stories of people, the struggles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jagmeet-singh/we-are-the-party-that-hears-the-stories-of-people-the-struggles/) [Jagmeet Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jagmeet-singh/) > [No one looks at a television, and no one hears it. It's a poison.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-purdy/no-one-looks-at-a-television-and-no-one-hears-it-it-s-a-poison/) [James Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-purdy/) > [In recitals, you are naked before the audience - well, naked with your jacket and tails. The audience sees and hears the real person,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-carreras/in-recitals-you-are-naked-before-the-audience-well-naked-with-your/) [Jose Carreras](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-carreras/) > [In the finest critics one hears the full cry of the human. They tell one why it matters to read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/in-the-finest-critics-one-hears-the-full-cry-of-the-human-they-tell/) [Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/) > [A grand jury hears only one side - that of the prosecutor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donella-meadows/a-grand-jury-hears-only-one-side-that-of-the-prosecutor/) [Donella Meadows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donella-meadows/) > [Everyone only hears what he understands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/everyone-only-hears-what-he-understands/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [The more you pray, the more God hears..!!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-more-you-pray-the-more-god-hears/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Glenn Greenwald > [In essence, I see the value of journalism as resting in a twofold mission: informing the public of accurate and vital information, and its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/in-essence-i-see-the-value-of-journalism-as-resting-in-a-twofold/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“The evidence shows that assurances that surveillance is only targeted at those who “have done something wrong” should provide little comfort, since a state…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-evidence-shows-that-assurances-that-surveillance-is-only-targeted/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“It's almost hard to imagine anything more undemocratic than the view that political officials should not debate American wars in public, but only express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/it-s-almost-hard-to-imagine-anything-more-undemocratic-than-the-view/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [It's hardly news that the Obama administration is intensely and, in many respects, unprecedentedly hostile toward the news-gathering process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/it-s-hardly-news-that-the-obama-administration-is-intensely-and-in/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [Only In America can a renowned and devoted terrorism supporter like Peter King be the arbiter of national security and treason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/only-in-america-can-a-renowned-and-devoted-terrorism-supporter-like/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Above even our physical well-being, a central value is keeping the state out of the private realm—our “persons, houses, papers, and effects,” as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/above-even-our-physical-well-being-a-central-value-is-keeping-the/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“That capability at any time could be turned around on the American people and no American would have any privacy left, such is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/that-capability-at-any-time-could-be-turned-around-on-the-american/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Converting the Internet into a system of surveillance thus guts it of its core potential. Worse, it turns the Internet into a tool of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/converting-the-internet-into-a-system-of-surveillance-thus-guts-it-of/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“the desire for privacy is shared by us all as an essential, not ancillary, part of what it means to be human. We all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/the-desire-for-privacy-is-shared-by-us-all-as-an-essential-not/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [I don't have a 'side'—I'm responsible for what I say and nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/i-don-t-have-a-side-i-m-responsible-for-what-i-say-and-nothing-else/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Encryption matters, and it is not just for spies and philanderers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/encryption-matters-and-it-is-not-just-for-spies-and-philanderers/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“Among other devices, the agency intercepts and tampers with routers and servers manufactured by Cisco to direct large amounts of Internet traffic back to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/among-other-devices-the-agency-intercepts-and-tampers-with-routers/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“NSA has increasingly made use of a secret technology that enables it to enter and alter data in computers even if they are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/nsa-has-increasingly-made-use-of-a-secret-technology-that-enables-it/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [A key purpose of journalism is to provide an adversarial check on those who wield the greatest power by shining a light on what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/a-key-purpose-of-journalism-is-to-provide-an-adversarial-check-on/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) > [“We all instinctively understand that the private realm is where we can act, think, speak, write, experiment, and choose how to be, away from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-greenwald/we-all-instinctively-understand-that-the-private-realm-is-where-we/) [Glenn Greenwald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) [Explore all 270 Glenn Greenwald quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-greenwald/) ## More Accusation quotes > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [This hype word bothers me though It always sounds like an accusation, what does it mean, advertising, column inches in the press? Bands themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-johnson/this-hype-word-bothers-me-though-it-always-sounds-like-an-accusation/) [Holly Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-johnson/) > [Knowledge of God's Word is a bulwark against deception, temptation, accusation, even persecution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-louis-cole/knowledge-of-god-s-word-is-a-bulwark-against-deception-temptation/) [Edwin Louis Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-louis-cole/) > [I never mind the accusations of domesticity, as long as people recognise that all of us, even the luckiest, will live lives in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/i-never-mind-the-accusations-of-domesticity-as-long-as-people/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [As so often, a political event involving Donald Trump looks like swinging wildly between melodrama and farce. The Republican National Convention in Cleveland has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-colvin/as-so-often-a-political-event-involving-donald-trump-looks-like/) [Mark Colvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-colvin/) > [Great literature has always been written in a like spirit, and is, indeed, the Forgiveness of Sin, and when we find it becoming the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/great-literature-has-always-been-written-in-a-like-spirit-and-is/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [“I had wanted to hate you that day. Believe me, I had. And then suddenly, staring at me incredulously, your extra half-tooth had blurted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kunal-sen/i-had-wanted-to-hate-you-that-day-believe-me-i-had-and-then-suddenly/) [Kunal Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kunal-sen/) > [“Looks sure can be deceiving: not every ‘ugly’ person is a ‘bad’ person (or is guilty of whatever it is that they are accused…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/looks-sure-can-be-deceiving-not-every-ugly-person-is-a-bad-person-or/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [How many voices have escaped you until now, the venting furnace, the floorboards underfoot, the steady accusations of the clock numbering the minutes no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-gioia/how-many-voices-have-escaped-you-until-now-the-venting-furnace-the/) [Dana Gioia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-gioia/) > [Hermione, will you please —” “Don’t you tell me what to do, Harry Potter!” she screeched. “Don’t you dare! Give it back now! And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hermione-will-you-please-don-t-you-tell-me-what-to-do-harry-potter/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sentimentalist” is the abuse with which people counter the accusation that they are cruel, thereby implying that to be sentimental is worse than to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-brophy/sentimentalist-is-the-abuse-with-which-people-counter-the-accusation/) [Brigid Brophy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-brophy/) > [In every relationship, sooner or later, there is a court scene. Accusations, counter-accusations, a trial, a verdict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/in-every-relationship-sooner-or-later-there-is-a-court-scene/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [“It will forever remain an accusation and a challenge to all men and women of conscience that it took as long as it has,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/it-will-forever-remain-an-accusation-and-a-challenge-to-all-men-and/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [A moral argument about whether censorship is good or bad deteriorates quickly into accusations about who is more or less patriotic, moral, pious, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-mackinnon/a-moral-argument-about-whether-censorship-is-good-or-bad-deteriorates/) [Rebecca MacKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-mackinnon/) > [Guilt has very quick ears to an accusation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-fielding/guilt-has-very-quick-ears-to-an-accusation/) [Henry Fielding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-fielding/) [Browse all 264 Accusation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accusation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The core distortion of the War on Terror under both Bush and Obama is the Orwellian practice of equating government accusations of terrorism with proof of guilt. 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