Because of the success of the operation in Iraq - these incompetents now use the word to describe any action they take in which they want the folks to think they are doing something meaningful and what will ultimately be successful.
Philosophical question - what happens to the world when there is no longer an “America” for the oppressed of the world to flee to?
Only choices shall be the kind of oppression you want to settle for. I cannot see the advantage of trading one set of oppressions for another.
Perhaps America was never truly “free”, but its system of rewarding initiative and keeping hands off in most instances, probably provided the greatest degree of freedom for the greatest number, ever, in the history of humanity.
Unfortunately, those who would spit on that set of virtues have gradually become greater in number than those who would preserve these same virtues.