No more 'war on terror': Clinton

Last Updated: Monday, March 30, 2009 | 6:23 PM ET

The Associated Press

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton arrives Monday at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands. (Peter Dejong/Associated Press)

The phrase "the war on terror" is finished, at least as far as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is concerned.

The top U.S. diplomat told reporters on Monday that the Obama administration has quit using that line to describe the effort to fight terrorism around the world.

The phrase is widely disliked in Europe and elsewhere overseas, where even close U.S. allies suggest the term is overly militaristic and perhaps counterproductive.

The phrase is also now associated with a range of Bush administration policies, such as the harsh interrogation practices that U.S. President Barack Obama has pledged to abandon.

Former president George W. Bush used the phrase as a rallying cry after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

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