A Bush Era Devil's Dictionary

For the last few years we have been ruled by lexicographers. Never has anadministration spent so much time creating, defining, or redefining terms,perhaps because no one (since George Orwell) has grasped the power andpossibility that lay hidden in plain sight in the naming and renaming of words.In a sense, our post-9/11 moment began with two definitions: The Bushadministration named our global enemy "terrorism" and called the actsthat followed a "war," which was soon given the moniker "theglobal war on terror" (later reduced to the acronym GWOT, also known asWorld War IV), which was then given an instant future -- being defined as a"generational struggle" that was still to come. All this, along with"war" itself, was simply announced rather than officially"declared."

Given that we were (by administration definition) at war, it should have beenself-evident that those we captured in our "war" on terrorism wouldthen be "prisoners of war," but no such luck for them, since theirrights would in that case have been clearly defined in international treatiessigned by the United States. So the Bush administration opened its Devil'sDictionary and came up with a new, tortured term for our new prisoners,"unlawful combatants," which really stood for: We can do anything wewant to you in a place of our choosing. For that place, they then chose Guantánamo,an American base in Cuba (which they promptly defined as within "Cubansovereignty" for the purposes of putting our detention camps beyond thepurview of American courts or Congress, but within Bush administrationsovereignty -- the sole kind that counted with them -- for the purposes of theCubans).

In this way, we moved from a self-declared generational war against a methodof making war to a world of torture beyond the reach of, or even sight of, thelaw in a place that (until the Supreme Court recently ruled otherwise) more orless didn't exist. All this was then supported by a world of pretzeled languageconstantly being reshaped in the White House Counsel's office, the JusticeDepartment, and the Pentagon so that reality would have no choice but to complywith the names given it.

The way gunmen once reached for their six-guns, so the various legal andother counselors of this administration reach for their dictionaries. Thelawyer-authors of the various tortured memos about torture that came out of theWhite House Counsel's office and the Justice Department, for instance, expendedmuch effort acting as if they were part of a panel for a new edition of somedictionary. Here are just a couple of examples along their tortuous path toredefining responsibility for the inflicting of pain:

"The word 'profound' has a number of meanings, all of which convey a significant depth. Webster's New International Dictionary 1977 [2nd ed. 1935 defines profound as...]"

"The word ‘other' modifies ‘procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses.' As an adjective, ‘other' indicates that the term or phrase it modifies is the remainder of several things. See Webster's Third New International Dictionary 1598 (1986) (defining ‘other' as ‘the one that remains of two or more') Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary 835 (1985) (defining ‘other' as ‘being the one (as of two or more) remaining or not included')."

It seems they sat surrounded by the Webster'sNew International Dictionary(sometimes the 1935 edition, sometimes laterones), the American Heritage Dictionary, and the Oxford EnglishDictionary , medical dictionaries, and who knows what else, as they decidedjust how much pain wasn't actually pain for the benefit of the Pentagon, theCIA, and the President.

While they consulted piles of dictionaries and other reference materials todraw the pain out of a global torture regime, their true definitional focus wason removing all fetters, all checks and balances, from George W. Bush's power aspresident. Since we were "at war," they did so, in large part, byhighlighting the role of our "war President" as commander-in-chief;and then redefining what his "wartime" powers would be. Theirdefinitional goal: To place presidential power (in the form of the powers of thecommander-in-chief to prosecute war) in a kind of constitutional Guantánamo;that is, beyond the "sovereignty" of any other powers in the Americanpolitical system, thus removing from Bush and his subordinates anyresponsibility for acts he may have ordered committed. In the process, theyredefined torture so narrowly that it became the definitional property of thetorturer.

This unfortunately is but part of our unfinished journey through the languageof the Bush era. Every day brings new and strange "wonders," theequivalent of the news of bizarre creatures and weird races -- the Cynocephali(dog-headed men), the Anthropophagi (whose heads were said to growbeneath their shoulders), the Blemmyae (with faces on their breasts), andthe Sciopods (swift one-legged creatures)-- brought back to Europe byMedieval travelers. To take but a single example, thenewest National Security document (pdf file) out of the Pentagon redefinesthe category of Weapons of Mass Destruction or WMD (which itself blunted theworld-destroying impact of nuclear weapons by sweeping them into a largercategory of potential weaponry) with a new acronym WMD/E:

"The term WMD/E relates to a broad range of adversary capabilities that pose potentially devastating impacts. WMD/E includes chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and enhanced high explosive weapons as well as other, more asymmetrical 'weapons'. They may rely more on disruptive impact than destructive kinetic effects. For example, cyber attacks on US commercial information systems or attacks against transportation networks may have a greater economic or psychological effect than a relatively small release of a lethal agent."

Soon, in addition to going to war with "terrorism" (al Qaeda) and"rogue nations" (Iraq), it seems that we will be able to go to"war" with cyber-hackers, a generational battle which will undoubtedlybe known as the Global War on Computer Hackers (GWOCH)

Recently, Katrina vanden Heuvel, editor of the Nation magazine, hasbeen focusing on Bush-administration-speak in the on-line columns she writes ather Editor's Cut weblog. She's been attempting to demystify what she calls"a veritable Orwellian Code of encrypted language." Her definitionsare amusing, biting, and on target. ("Neoconservatives,n. Nerds with Napoleonic complexes.") At some point, she opened her columnup toNation readers and now plans to put together a Republican Dictionary out ofthe various definitions that are coming in.

Herewith, then, entries (or are they entrees?) for a modern Devil'sDictionary (with a small bow to AmbroseBierce).

Homeland n: A term successfully used by the Germans and theSoviets in World War II, less successfully (and in the plural) by Apartheid-eraSouth Africa. It means neither home, nor land, has replaced both country andnation in American public speech, and is seldom wielded without the companionword "security." It is the place to which imperial forces return forR&R.

Homeland Security: synonymous with Homeland insecurity.

Homeland Security Department: The new Defense Department, known fordeclaring bridges yellow and the Statue of Liberty orange.

Homelandism n: a neologism for love of the Homeland SecurityState as in, "My Homeland, ‘tis of thee, sweet security state ofliberty…"

Intelligence n: What Dick Cheney wants and the CIA must provide-- or else. (See, Iraq, weapons of mass destruction)

Nationalism n: How foreigners love their country (when theydo). A very dangerous phenomenon that can lead to extremes of passion,blindness, and xenophobia. (See, Terrorism)

Oil n: 1. Black gold. 2. (defunct acronym) OperationIraqi Liberation or OIL (name changed to Operation Iraqi Freedom, OIF,without explanation). 3. What the Bush administration wasn't after in Iraq andisn't after in Iran. (See, Democracy)

Patriotism n: How Americans love their country. A trait sopositive you can't have too much of it, and if you do, then you are asuper-patriot which couldn't be better. (Foreigners cannot be patriotic. See,Nationalism)

Pentagon n: Formerly, the Defense Department, but since we nowhave a new defense department (see, Homeland Security Department), soon berenamed the Global Forward Deployment Department or GFDD (Ge-Fudd). Itsforward-deployed headquarters will be established in a two-sided building, theDuogon, now being constructed in Bahrain out of sand imported from the beachesof Texas by Halliburton subsidiary KBR. From there, it plans to rule the knownworld.

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I asked a number of writers if they would contribute their own Bush-eradefinitions. You'll see the results below directly from the "pens" of Rebecca Solnit, Chalmers and SheilaJohnson, Arlie and Adam Hochschild, and Nick Turse among others (including onedefinition sent in by Bill Moyers).

When asked if he would like to submit a Bush-era definition or two, NoamChomsky replied, "I suspect that I'll have to fall back on Mark Twain'sdespair when trying to satirize General Funston: 'No satire of Funston couldreach perfection, because Funston occupies that summit himself....[he is] satireincarnated.'" (General Frederick N. Funston was a commander of part of theAmerican expeditionary force that crushed the Philippine independence movementas the twentieth century began.)

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Arlie Hochschild:
Environmental Protection Agency: Economic Predators Inc.

Homeland Security Advisory System: Color-coded program for emotionaldestabilization.

Leave No Child Behind: Social class divide maintenance system

Adam Hochschild:
Senate n: Exclusive club, entry fee $10 to $30 million.

House of Representatives: Exclusive club, entry fee $1 to $5 million.

Washington Press Corps: Extension of White House and Pentagon pressoffices.

Chalmers and Sheila Johnson:

StuffHappens: Donald Rumsfeld as master historian.

March of Freedom Around the World: John Negroponte's career.

Shock and Awe: A classic combination like "surf and turf";special effects produced at missile point by the U.S. military. (See, StateTerrorism).

Bill Moyers:
Burning Bush: A biblical allusion to the response of thePresident of the United States when asked a question by a journalist who has notbeen paid to inquire.

Jonathan Schell:
Republican Party: A party that assails the foundations of theRepublic, attacking the balance and separation of powers (See, Assertions ofUntrammeled Presidential Authority -- to violate domestic and international lawsforbidding torture); habeas corpus (See, Assertion of Right to Lock Away"Enemy Combatants" Forever -- without due process of law); andfederalism (See, Legislative and Executive Rampage -- to overturn state courtdecisions in the Terry Schiavo case).

Orville Schell:
Strategic Competitor (China branch): Containing China militarily whileusing it as an industrial park for outsourcing low-paying and often pollutingindustries.

Michael Schwartz:
Democracy n: A country where the newspapers are pro-American.

Public Opinion Polls: Progress reports for spin doctors.

Stephen Shalom:
Checks and Balances. The system whereby the campaign checks of the fewbalance the interests of the many.

Free Speech Zone The area to which those who differ from theadministration are confined should they be so audacious as to wish to exercisetheir right of free speech.

Free Press: 1. Government propaganda materials covertly funded with aquarter of a billion dollars of taxpayer money but given out for free to thepress and then broadcast without any acknowledgment of the government's role intheir preparation. 2. Newspapers that obscure the truth on behalf of corporateand government interests for free.

Town-hall Meeting: A meeting in a hall in a town where all theparticipants have first been vetted for loyalty to the Bush administration.

Mandate: 1. The opinion expressed by about a quarter of the eligiblevoters. 2. The opinion reflected in an electoral-vote margin smaller than in any20th century election other than 1916 and 2000. 3. The opinion expressed by thesmallest popular vote margin obtained by a sitting president since 1916.

Rebecca Solnit:
China: See WalMart.

Death n: An increasingly rare phenomenon, no longer occurringamong soldiers of the U.S. army or civilians in affected countries. However, themedia reports that death is still caused by lone gunmen and over-consumption ofsaturated fats as well as natural disasters.

Democracy n: 1. A product so extensively exported that thedomestic supply is depleted. 2. When they vote for us. (See, tyranny: When theyvote for someone else.)

Liberal adj: Widely used after the words progressive, radical,left, revolutionary, and insurrectionary were banned from the mainstream media,having the double benefit of making moderates seem vaguely dangerous and makingrevolutionaries seem vaguely embarrassing and ineffectual. Liberal media: TedKoppel and anarchist zines.

Negroponte, John: Good diplomat, in the sense that Pol Pot is a goodfamily-planner.

Ownership Society: You no longer own your national parks, your publictransit, your commons, your government, your Bill of Rights, or your future, butyou may purchase a Burger King franchise or some stocks with your WalMartearnings.

Peace n: What war is for.

Security n: Something to be applied to the homeland but not tothe social.

Social Security: A good idea except for two problems: Social verges onsocialism and guarantees of security violate a free market.

The Marketplace of Ideas: Buy low, sell high.

WalMart: The nation-state, future tense.

Nick Turse:
Abuse n: Modern word for what was once referred to as torture.An interim term, soon to be replaced by "tough love" (which, in turn,is expected to be replaced by "freedom's caress").

Mullah n: 1. (archaic) Religious teacher or leader, a title ofrespect in Islamic countries, pronounced "mull-a." 2. (informal) Inthe modern presidential vernacular, a title of disrespect (pronounced "moo-lah")in reference to Muslims deemed too fanatical to be bought-off by American"moo-lah."

Rummy slang: 1. (archaic) A person so drunk he can't recall athing. 2. (modern) A SECDEF so drunk on power that he refuses to rememberanything.

Support the Troops: A mandatory mantra which need no longer be mouthedsince full "support" can be offered with a simple $1 investment in a magneticyellow ribbon to affix to the back of your SUV.

Chip Ward:
Healthy Forests: Forests made safe from the ravages of nature, i.e.bugs and fires, by removal to pulp mills and lumber yards.

Wilderness n: 1. Publicly owned former habitat for wildlife,often endangered, where private corporations go wild drilling for oil and gas,grazing cattle, logging, and building roads. 2. Off-road vehicle theme parkscharacterized by abundant stumps, oil slicks, tire tracks, flattened owls, andcoughing caribou.

Courtesy, TomDispatch.Com