[avaer]

If you go to https://www.war.gov/ it says Department of War. The person in charge calls himself the Secretary of War. Warfighters are being sent into Iran. Presumably to engage in warfare. People are gonna die.

What's cosmetic about this?

[delichon]

Agree, essentially the Department of War is the Department of Defense with a little less makeup.

[WrongAssumption]

Seems more accurate to me. Department of Defense was the one that seemed like a euphemism.

[lo_zamoyski]

It's cosmetic because it is business as usual.

And the DoW was the original name from 1789 to 1947.