White House: 'War on terrorism' is over

'Jihadists' and 'global war' no longer acceptable terms

By Jon Ward and Eli Lake WASHINGTON TIMES

Originally published 12:34 p.m., August 6, 2009, updated 06:19 p.m., August 6, 2009

It's official. The U.S. is no longer engaged in a "war on terrorism." Neither is it fighting "jihadists" or in a "global war."

President Obama's top homeland security and counterterrorism official took all three terms off the table of acceptable words inside the White House during a speech Thursday at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington think tank.

"The President does not describe this as a 'war on terrorism,'" said John Brennan, head of the White House homeland security office, who outlined a "new way of seeing" the fight against terrorism.

The only terminology that Mr. Brennan said the administration is using is that the U.S. is "at war with al Qaeda."

"We are at war with al Qaeda," he said. "We are at war with its violent extremist allies who seek to carry on al Qaeda's murderous agenda."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/06/white-house-war-terrorism-over/?feat=home_headlines

Doubt Raised on Gitmo Closing Date

By SIOBHAN GORMAN and EVAN PEREZ

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration's counterterrorism chief appeared to provide the first indication the administration may not make its January deadline for closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay in remarks Thursday that aimed to outline a new path for combating terrorism.

The administration is folding measures to combat terrorists into its broader effort to engage other countries and improve social conditions overseas, said John Brennan, the president's senior counterterrorism adviser who also served as a senior intelligence official during the Bush administration.

• Obama Asks Supreme Court
  To Block Detainee Photos

  Administration takes issue to high court on grounds that releasing photos would incite violence, endanger troops

Congress Gets an Upgrade

$550 Million Slated for Purchase of Eight More Planes as Lawmakers' Travel Soars

By BRODY MULLINS

WASHINGTON -- Congress plans to spend $550 million to buy eight jets, a substantial upgrade to the fleet used by federal officials at a time when lawmakers have criticized the use of corporate jets by companies receiving taxpayer funds.

Maloney won't run for N.Y. Senate

Committee drops Countrywide probe

Americans Return to Tougher Immigration Stance

More want immigration decreased than kept the same or increased

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With some U.S. lawmakers and immigration rights activists stepping up calls for the Obama administration to pursue immigration reform, Gallup finds Americans less favorable toward immigration than they were a year ago. Half (50%) say immigration should be decreased, up from 39% last year. A third (32%) say immigration levels should be kept the same, down from 39%, and 14% say they should be increased, down from 18%.

http://www.gallup.com/poll/122057/Americans-Return-Tougher-Immigration-Stance.aspx

Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Florida, will announce that he is resigning his seat.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Florida, will announce that he is resigning his seat, three GOP sources tell CNN.

The sources said that Martinez will officially announce his intention to step down on Friday. The Florida Republican, first elected in 2004, announced in December of lat year that he would retire in 2010.

U.S. economy sheds fewer jobs than expected

• On Friday August 7, 2009, 8:38 am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. employers cut 247,000 jobs in July, far less than expected and the least in any month since last August, according to a government report on Friday that provided the clearest evidence yet that the economy was turning around.

With fewer workers being laid off, the unemployment rate eased to 9.4 percent in July from 9.5 percent the prior month, the Labor Department said, the first time the jobless rate had fallen since April 2008.

August 7, 1782

Washington creates the Purple Heart

At his headquarters in Newburgh, New York, General George Washington, the commander in chief of the Continental Army, creates the "Badge for Military Merit," a decoration consisting of a purple, heart-shaped piece of silk, edged with a narrow binding of silver, with the word Merit stitched across the face in silver. The badge was to be presented to soldiers for "any singularly meritorious action" and permitted its wearer to pass guards and sentinels without challenge. The honoree's name and regiment were also to be inscribed in a "Book of Merit."

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=5239

August 7, 1912

Teddy Roosevelt nominated as Bull Moose candidate

Theodore Roosevelt, the former U.S. president, is nominated for the presidency by the Progressive Party, a group of Republicans dissatisfied with the renomination of President William Howard Taft. Also known as the Bull Moose Party, the Progressive platform called for the direct election of U.S. senators, woman suffrage, reduction of the tariff, and many social reforms. Roosevelt, who served as the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909, embarked on a vigorous campaign as the party's presidential candidate. A key point of his platform was the "Square Deal"--Roosevelt's concept of a society based on fair business competition and increased welfare for needy Americans.

August 7, 1942

U.S. forces invade Guadalcanal

On this day in 1942, the U.S. 1st Marine Division begins Operation Watchtower, the first U.S. offensive of the war, by landing on Guadalcanal, one of the Solomon Islands.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=6543

August 7, 1964

Congress passes Gulf of Tonkin Resolution

The United States Congress overwhelming approves the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, giving President Lyndon B. Johnson nearly unlimited powers to oppose "communist aggression" in Southeast Asia. The resolution marked the beginning of an expanded military role for the United States in the Cold War battlefields of Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

August 7, 1990

Bush orders Operation Desert Shield

On this day in 1990, President George Herbert Walker Bush orders the organization of Operation Desert Shield in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2. The order prepared American troops to become part of an international coalition in the war against Iraq that would be launched as Operation Desert Storm in January 1991. To support Operation Desert Shield, Bush authorized a dramatic increase in U.S. troops and resources in the Persian Gulf.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=50718

Reuters

August 6, 1787

First draft of Constitution debated

In Philadelphia, delegates to the Constitutional Convention begin debating the first complete draft of the proposed Constitution of the United States.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=5237

August 6, 1945

Atomic bomb is dropped on Hiroshima

On this day in 1945, at 8:16 a.m. Japanese time, an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, drops the world's first atom bomb, over the city of Hiroshima. Approximately 80,000 people are killed as a direct result of the blast, and another 35,000 are injured. At least another 60,000 would be dead by the end of the year from the effects of the fallout.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=VideoArticle&id=6542

August 6, 1965

Johnson signs Voting Rights Act

On this day in 1965, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act, guaranteeing African Americans the right to vote. The bill made it illegal to impose restrictions on federal, state and local elections that were designed to deny the vote to blacks.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=50717