Edit: Ah, you said GPLv2, my quote is taken from v3. Looks like they fixed it.
It's interesting that if one searches, in either law textbooks or in the case law, there just isn't much that makes a distinction between licenses and contracts outside of real property law, where they are usually talking about bare licenses. In almost all other contexts, the terms are largely used interchangeably, although it seems license is more likely to be used when it is a one to many arrangement (e.g., one party is making essentially the same contract with numerous other parties) and contract is more likely when it is one to one.
But I'm no lawyer and neither a GPL advocate, I'm only interested understanding licenses.
EDIT: I understand that the previous distribution license is revoked only if you fail to comply with the original term under which you agreed to use the software/code.
Of course, IANAL and AFAIK this has never been tested.