WASHINGTON, DC - Following up on a comment made by Commander In Chief George W. Bush, the Defense Department announced Monday that official Pentagon policy has been adjusted to follow all mentions of the current Iraq War going forward with a Comma, changing prior policy of following mentions of the current Iraq War with a Period.
Assistant Secretary of Defense Larry DiRita spoke, "We would like to announce that from now on any punctuation that is used by the Defense Department after describing the current Iraq War will be a Comma. We have made this policy decision in order to better reflect happenings on the ground. Whereas past hopes of the Defense Department were for the current Iraq War to be the last war fought in that country in a long line of wars, therefore necessitating the use of a Period after listing the current war, in the present context this no longer appears to be the case. Also, whereas past hopes of the Department of Defense were for the current Iraq War to be the last war fought in the larger context of the War on Terror, this also no longer appears to be the case."
The policy change follows a remark made by President Bush during an interview with Wolf Blitzer that was aired Sunday.
In the exchange, Blitzer asked about the latest setbacks in Iraq and indications that civil war may be at hand. Bush, with a slight smile, replied, "Yes, you see -- you see it on TV, and that's the power of an enemy that is willing to kill innocent people. But there's also an unbelievable will and resiliency by the Iraqi people.... I like to tell people when the final history is written on Iraq, it will look like just a comma because there is -- my point is, there's a strong will for democracy."
DiRita noted examples of where the punctuation change will be seen, "For example, in prior briefings we would have stated that Iraq has had a long history of wars: the British Invasion of 1941, the Iran/Iraq War, The Persian Gulf War, and the current Iraq War. But now, after making this change, we will state that Iraq has had a long history of wars: the British Invasion of 1941, the Iran/Iraq War, The Persian Gulf War, the current Iraq War, and the future Iraqi Civil War."
"Another example would be that in prior briefings we would have stated that the War on Terror has been fought on the battlefields of the War in Afghanistan and the War in Iraq. But now, after making this change, we will state that the War on Terror has been fought on the battlefield of the War in Afghanistan, the War in Iraq, and the War To Be Named Later."
Pressed for further explanation, DiRita replied, "Due to classification restrictions, I cannot comment on the specifics of the War To Be Named Later at this time. However, I can say that this punctuation change has also necessitated a change in how we punctuate following mention of the War in Afghanistan. As you can see, we were formerly following the War in Afghanistan with simply `And'. This too has been changed to a Comma going forward. Thank you for your time."
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