President Donald Trump raised the stakes in the Iran war last Friday by demanding the regime’s unconditional surrender. The president’s rhetoric is evolving as quickly as the modern battlefield, while cable news panels and editorial pages keep recycling the same tired clichés born during the Iraq debate or earlier.

These phrases often obscure more than they clarify, narrowing the debate with slogans rather than explaining the realities of war. Before they distort the conversation once again, it is worth taking a closer look at some of the worst offenders.