STEPHEN L. CARTER: Bring Back The Department Of War.

Whatever the merits of any particular war, the rise of euphemism intended to disguise its nature is an unhappy development in political discourse. How do we repair the damage?

A young acquaintance of mine, formerly of the U.S. Special Forces, has a concrete suggestion. My friend undertook many a dicey mission in dangerous parts of the world. He doesn’t feel that what his country called upon him to do was unjust or unfair. He does feel that the rest of us tend to hide from ourselves the nature of what we ask our armed forces to do.

My friend proposes restoring the original name of the Department of Defense, which until 1949 was known as the Department of War. A small change, he concedes, but one he says would put us on the path toward a little bit more honesty about who we are and what’s done in our name.

Indeed.