There's been a fair bit of to-ing and fro-ing in the news media recently about whether the Obama administration has dropped the Bush-era phrase "Global War on Terror" from its lexicon. First, we read it was dead. Then, we read maybe not.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton seemed to put the matter to rest Monday, telling reporters on her plane to the Netherlands (where she is attending an international conference on Afghanistan, center of the GWOT) that the phrase is no longer being used.

"I haven't heard it used. I haven't gotten any directive about using it or not using it, it's just not being used," Clinton said, according to the Associated Press.

As the AP dispatch notes, many Europeans (and a fair # of U.S. counter-terrorism specialists) objected to the phrase, which they felt reflected an overly militaristic approach to fighting terrorism, and encapsulated perceived abuses, such as the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. 

Kind of a shame, all the same. We like that GWOT acronym.