The phrase was introduced by Fallon's predecessor, General John Abizaid, to convey the scale of a lengthy political and military conflict against Islamic extremists, with similarities to the Cold War.

But the new US commander for the Middle East was concerned about how the message was perceived in the region, the Pentagon said, and wanted to stress the US presence in Iraq was not indefinite.

"I think admiral Fallon has expressed the desire to be more precise with certain terminology ... and to be sensitive to the way in which people in different parts of the world interpret what we are saying," Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters.

"With respect to the ideological struggle, that's going to be a long endeavor, with respect to the higher-intensity combat operations that are taking place in places like Iraq that is not an open-ended endeavor," he said.

The US military wants to make clear "the difference between the broader war that is taking place against terrorists worldwide and our operations that are taking place in places like Iraq and Afghanistan," he said.

But he said retiring the "long war" phrase did not mean the Iraq war was not considered a part of the fight against terrorism.

"Clearly, Iraq and Afghanistan are places where the coalition is engaged against terrorist threats and activities. That is part of the broader global war on terror," he said.

The New York Times reported Tuesday that cultural advisers in Fallon's command were concerned the phrase could alienate Middle East audiences by implying the US military would remain in Iraq for many years.

President George W. Bush and other members of the US administration have used the phrase.

Last year the White House stopped using "stay the course" to describe its Iraq war strategy after criticism it had failed to adapt to the conflict.

In 2005, the Pentagon proposed replacing the phrase "war on terror" with the "global struggle against violent extremism" but the president objected.

earlier related report
Bush: U.S. Security Tied to Success in Iraq
By Sgt. Sara Wood - USA American Forces Press Service Washington, April 24 - Although most Americans would like to see the conflict in Iraq end and U.S. troops come home, America must persevere in Iraq to ensure its own future security, President Bush said here today.

"No matter how frustrating the fight can be and no matter how much we wish the war was over, the security of our country depends directly on the outcome in Iraq," Bush said in a White House statement on the 2007 Iraq war supplemental spending bill.

Bush spoke against Congress's proposed bill, which ties funding for the war with withdrawal deadlines for U.S. troops from Iraq. Setting withdrawal deadlines would let the enemy know exactly how long they have to wait before they can try to take over Iraq and use it as a base for future attacks, he said.

"A lesson of 9/11 is that allowing terrorists to find a sanctuary anywhere in the world can have deadly consequences on the streets of our own cities," Bush said. "Precipitous withdrawal from Iraq is not a plan to bring peace to the region or to make our people safer at home. Instead, it would embolden our enemies and confirm their belief that America is weak."

Withdrawing from Iraq before the job is done would be an invitation to terrorists to attack America and its allies around the world, Bush said, and would increase the chance that American troops would have to return to Iraq one day and face a stronger enemy.

Bush said he listened when, in the November 2006 election, the American people voiced a desire for change in the strategy in Iraq. Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the new commander of Multinational Force Iraq, is carrying out a strategy that's drastically different from the previous strategy, Bush said. While the people voted for change in Iraq strategy, Bush added, "the American people did not vote for failure."

"The price of giving up (in Iraq) would be paid in American lives for years to come," Bush said. "It would be (an) unforgiveable mistake for leaders in Washington to allow politics and impatience to stand in the way of protecting the American people."

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