mission creep

noun

the tendency for a task, esp a military operation, to become unintentionally wider in scope than its initial objectives

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

How to use mission creep in a sentence

But “Iran likely has its own limits in terms of mission creep in Syria,” says Vira.
Iran’s Drone War in Syria | Patrick Hilsman | May 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Typically, American hubris has meant overreaching, and "mission creep" has historically been synonymous with disaster.
Of Course It's Not ‘Too Late’ in Syria | Hussein Ibish | June 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Think military advisors, the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution and mission creep.
Obama’s Syrian “Red Line” Could Return Us To The Mistakes of Iraq | Lloyd Green | May 5, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
But if there is anything to be learned from America's use of drones abroad, it is that mission creep follows.
How Law Enforcement Really Uses Drones | Ryan Prior | June 22, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Not afraid of mission creep are the two leading lights of the genre, Courtney Love and Charlie Sheen.
Celebrity Rants! Courtney Love, Ashley Judd & More Stars Uncensored | Lizzie Skurnick | April 15, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST

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