A War Weasel Word Watch

Air campaign

Bombardment of cities. There are no Iraqi airplanes.

"Anything that moves, let them have it"

[Command issued by a British officer on the outskirts of Basra referring to anything moving in front of them. -- BBC TV, March 26, 2003.]

And the civilians too?

But certainly the US is going to win

Why don’t you capitulate right now? The only question the BBC can ask Iraqi officials.

City falls

Terminology used during the Middle Ages.

Civilians fleeing

The CNN reason for civilians to flee Basra: to escape the vicious grip of the meanies. A reminder to CNN: the city is being bombed, water supplies have been cut off by British troops, and there is a lot of shooting and bombing.

Coalition

US-UK, but the UK contribution is going to less than 6% after the current US troop increases.

"Let me just say that there are a number of nations in the world that are fully supporting our efforts, and you heard a number of them speak at the Security Council the other day: Spain, the United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Italy, Portugal, the newly independent nations of the former Soviet Union. [...] And they do it in the face of public opposition."

-- General Colin Powell, Interview on Fox News Sunday With Tony Snow, March 9, 2003. (Italics added)

NB: There is no such thing as a coalition of the unwilling. The silly tautological "coalition of the willing" is offensive both in its intent and the abuse of language. Tautology is as much a give-away of lying as sweat on the liar’s face.

Cruise Control

"Do Bush and Blair intend to save Iraqis by using ‘cruise control’?"

-- Comment made by an Iraqi in a BBC Radio program from Iraq, March 27, 2003.

Decapitation strike

No need to declare war, attack a "target of opportunity". There is also no need to consult with Congress either; this one already handed over its head on a platter.

DU Ammo

"Coalition forces are using depleted uranium (DU) shells in the war against Iraq and deliberately flouting a United Nations resolution which classifies the munitions as illegal weapons of mass destruction. DU contaminates land, causes ill-health and cancers among the soldiers using the weapons, the armies they target and civilians, leading to birth defects in children. Professor DougRokke, ex-director of the Pentagon's depleted uranium project -- a former professor of environmental science at Jacksonville University and onetime US army colonel who was tasked by the US department of defense with the post-first Gulf war depleted uranium desert clean-up -- said use of DU was a ‘war crime’."

-- Neil Mackay, "US Forces’ Use of Depleted Uranium Weapons is 'Illegal’ ", Sunday Herald, March 30, 2003.

Embedded journalist

The reason journalism is known as the second oldest profession.

"The reporting isn’t just embedded; it’s in bed with the Pentagon. And CNN is the worst of all."

-- Jeffrey St. Clair, Life During Wartime, Counterpunch, March 25, 2003

Fedayeen

Interpreted by the various US spokesmodels as "Those who fight and die for Saddam". It is used to describe anyone not passively surrendering to US-UK forces. Also, "irregulars" used for this purpose for forces in the "pockets" of resistance to the onslaught.

Friendly fire

Friendly fire is the main cause of US-UK fatalities, but also a means never to admit that the enemy inflicted damage. The Iraqis must always be portrayed as bumbling idiots or criminals - shooting even one US soldier gives them a tinge of competence. The Iraqis attacked a convoy of supply trucks using machine guns andRPGs. However, "friendly fire" was reported to be the cause for all the burned out trucks and wounded soldiers. Didn’t the Iraqis even hit one truck? Hmmm…

Good intentions

"We want them to realize that we come here with good intentions" --British tank commander in a BBC-TV embedded propaganda piece on March 31, 2003.

Never mind that the same troops just killed some people in the town that had just "fallen" to the British troops.

These statements parallel the justification for destroying villages in Vietnam, i.e., "we destroyed them in order to save them." Good intentioned Americans have caused barbarous amount of damage and carnage around the world. Also, it seems that whatever the destruction or killing is instantly forgiven simply because it was well intentioned. This appeals to all the Christians in the US and elsewhere.

Hearts and minds thing

"The marines were keen to emphasize that, posing for photographs demanded by the journalists as they handed sweets to children and fed military rations chocolate to stray puppies… ‘We have to do the hearts and minds thing’, said Colonel Ben Currie."

-- Andrew Buncombe, The Independent, March 26, 2003.

Human shields

"Civilians next to the Iraqi forces stationed to defend the cities. What do they expect, that the entire Iraqi army moves out of the cities to defend empty desert?"

-- Cliff Jackson,DoubleStandards.org, March 28, 03.

Humanitarian aid

Justification for opening the port immediately. Unfortunately, several thousand truckloads of supplies are necessary to keep the US forces operating. Each division consumes 1.5 million gallons of gasoline per day. Which demand do you suppose will have priority use of the port? The first humanitarian cargo ship, the "Sir Galahad", arrived on March 28th, and over a hundred journalists were bused in for the occasion. The supplies were brought in for propaganda benefit, and are only a minuscule proportion of the needs in the area. On March 30th, it was revealed that more than half the shipment was munitions. There is very little doubt that the docking of the ship must have been coordinated by the military and propagandists. But did the irony of the name escape them? Sir Galahad was one of the crusader knights seeking the Holy Grail.

"…one [the] company’s greatest weapons is its humanitarian effort… They know we are a force for good and that we are here to help them."

--UK Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, Major Duncan McSporran

Is it really him?

An often-repeated question by BBC or CNN reporters after a Saddam Hussein speech. Never mind the content of his speech.

Kill box

Pacman warrior terminology. Draw boxes around enemy positions and exterminate them.

Liberation

Occupation.

Military Experts

Propagators of the Pentagon line on TV by retired officers. They receive official briefings by the Pentagon, and then attempt to present the war as a sports event - post-game play-by-play analysis style.

"The US military has invaded the US media. I would like tonight to call for an immediate removal of all US troops from CBS, NBC, ABC, Fox, CNN, all of them. US troops come home!"

from Michael Moore’s intended Oscar speech delivered at the Riverside Church, March 27, 2003.

Oil

Desperate means to fund this war. Iraqi Oil exports will start BEFORE the war ends!

Red line

Where finally the Iraqis will use chemical weapons. The line has been drawn by CNN, not the Iraqis.

RF: 'Allegedly'

For all carnage caused by Western forces.

RF: 'At last, the damning evidence'

Used when reporters enter old torture chambers.

RF: 'Inevitable revenge'

For the executions of Saddam's Baath party officials which no one actually said were inevitable.

RF: 'Life goes on'

For any pictures of Iraq's poor making tea.

RF: 'Newly liberated'

For territory and cities newly occupied by the Americans or British.

RF: 'Officials here are not giving us much access'

A clear sign that reporters in Baghdad are confined to their hotels.

RF: 'Remnants'; aka Pockets of resistance

Allegedly ‘diehard’ Iraqi troops still shooting at the Americans but actually the first signs of a resistance movement dedicated to the ‘liberation’ of Iraq from its new western occupiers.

RF: 'Stubborn' or 'suicidal'

To be used when Iraqi forces fight rather than retreat.

RF: 'What went wrong?'

To accompany pictures illustrating the growing anarchy in Iraq as if it were not predicted.

Saddam

Poor guy, there is no respect. They even referred to Hitler by his last name. Proof that Saddam has been truly demonized is that he is referred to by his first name. (Granted, there is some controversy on how his names should be handled.)

Saddam’s fault

Blame the victim. If the bombs fall in civilian areas, then blame Saddam Hussein for putting military targets in built up areas.
Shooting their own people On March 28th a bomb killed 62+ civilians in Baghdad. The "coalition" spokesman denied the responsibility for the bombing. But surprise, Iraqi forces are now "shooting their own people" trying to leave cities "under Saddam’s control"! Even for propagandists sometimes the best defense is an offense.

Still Investigating

Just don’t want to admit responsibility right now.

"The piece of metal is only a foot high, but the numbers on it hold the clue to the latest atrocity in Baghdad. At least 62 civilians had died by yesterday afternoon, and the coding on that hunk of metal contains the identity of the culprit. The Americans and British were doing their best yesterday to suggest that an Iraqi anti-aircraft missile destroyed those dozens of lives, adding that they were ‘still investigating’ the carnage. But the coding is in Western style, not in Arabic. And many of the survivors heard the plane."

-- Robert Fisk, The Independent, March 30, 2003 NB: the warhead of an anti-aircraft missile is quite small. By simple deduction, a large bomb means only one thing.

Support our troops

No need to support the war, just our team.

"AP has frequently used the terms ‘pro-war’ and ‘pro-troops’ interchangeably -- a practice that distorts the views of anti-war demonstrators and contributes to the media marginalization of the peace movement."

-- FAIR, March 26, 2003

Terrorism aka looks and feels like terrorism

Oh, don’t forget that this is a war against terrorism! In the March 27th press conference, Bush referred to the guerrilla tactics used against US troops as terrorism. A top US general repeated this assertion the following day. Any hostile action by regular or irregular Iraqis against an American aggressor force is NOT terrorism. NB: Iraqis are attacking soldiers. The Americans are not in a position to define what is legitimate resistance. They are also not in a position to specify where these acts of resistance will take place. Finally, Iraqi violence now, or during the past decade, has had nothing to do with any attack against the US, i.e., 9-11.

The Oscars

This is about entertainment. Now shut up.

There is still a climate of fear; aka there are still Baath operatives in the city.

The reason why the people don’t come out to shower the invaders with flowers. Supposedly, the secret police, theBaathists, the military… instill fear in the population, and they are fearful to kiss the American soldiers. Smash the regime, and they will love "us".

Tsunami of democracy

Democracy will sweep the Middle East once the flower blooms in Iraq. The flowers may have to peer through the rubble first.

Uprising in Basra!

Military wishful thinking. They hope there may be some support for "our" bombing of their cities. A propaganda stinker safely dispatched by the Al Jazeera footage.

Violation of Geneva Conventions

"As 6,000+ Palestinian political prisoners rot in Israeli prisons, as has been the norm here for 36 years now, it is ironic how four US POWs interviewed on TV all of a sudden become the spark to get the words ‘Geneva Conventions’ to be spoken by US officials."

-- SamBahour, Ramallah, Occupied Palestine, Mar. 26, 2003

War games

Oops, this is not the war we prepared for!

"The enemy we are fighting is different from the one we’dwargamed."

-- Lt. General William Wallace, US V Corps. March 28, 2003.

Entries with a RF in front of them are from Robert Fisk’s "The war of misinformation has begun", TheIndependent, March 16, 2003.