I don't know about you, but I'm sick and tired of the Euphemisms being used by the Bush administration, and now the Omert administration, to try to hide the ugliness of war behind a thin vale of candy coated words and phrases. In an effort to harness my anger and disgust at their attempts to put lipstick on this pig, I thought I would start my own little dictionary of words and phrases, complete with the "real" definitions, Government Spun definitions, my own fantasy definitions, and those of the Neocon War Machine, starting with the term "Collateral Damage" after the fold. Please feel free to add some of your own in your comments.
Before I get to the list, you should be aware of where I'm coming from.
First, I'm not trying to pile on Isreal. I lump my criticism of the Isreali government with our own. I don't consider criticizing the Isreali government as an act of anti-Semitism any more than I would consider criticizing Bushco as being anti-American or un-patriotic.
Second, you might find some of my definitions cruel or inhumane. I know I did in some cases. But then I thought of the hundreds of senseless civilian deaths every week in Iraq. And the CNN & PBS L reports from Lebanon I heard today of a 7 year old child covered in shrapnel with two of her toes blown off and constantly crying uncontrollably out of pain and fear; or the 2 year old whose eye was missing and whose stomach was blown open; or the infant who is missing 3 fingers on her little hand. After I heard these reports, I got a new perspective on what "cruel and inhumane" really is.
Collateral Damage
Webster - Associated damage, but of secondary
importance.
(This is from Webster, but it could just
as well be from the Neocon crowd);
Gov. Spun - Unintended and regrettable civilian
casualties;
My Def. - A bunch of innocent people like you and me
who got caught up in a war they had
nothing to do with, and who find
themselves homeless, brutally mangled or
DEAD as a result;
Neocon Def. - Terrorists and savages whose fate is
of no consequence to us.
Incursion
Webster - A sudden hostile invasion;
Gov. Spun - A brief border crossing into another
country of limited men and limited
duration;
My Def. - A hostile invasion by a powerful
nation-state of a little nation that could
not of possibly caused any great amount of
harm to the big nation;
Neocon Def. - The beginning of imperial world
domination.
Invasion
Webster - Entry of an army into a country for
conquest;
Gov. Spun - None, this term is simply not in the
government vocabulary. We don't invade,
we liberate and root out the terrorists;
My Def. - A hostile take over of a land and its
people that bring the conqueror and the
conquered nothing but pain and misery;
Neocon Def. - Hey, we're Imperialists, invading is
what we do.
Precision Bombing
Webster - Highly accurate bombing;
Gov. Spun - A method of bombing used to maximize
target destruction while minimizing
collateral damage;
My Def. - A term used to cover your ass when a bunch
of innocent civilians get blown up
(e.g., Hey, if it wasn't for our precise
bombing, the civilian death toll could of
been a lot higher);
Neocon Def. - Blowing up the people while leaving
the oil rigs standing.
Occupation
Webster - The taking possession of an area by a
foreign military force;
Gov. Spun - None, this term is simply not in the
government vocabulary. We don't occupy,
we simply assist the sovereign
government;
My Def. - Keeping a military in a country where they
are not wanted to prop up a government you
foolishly hope will do what you want it
to, or tear down one that did not do what
you wanted it to do;
Neocon Def. - Hey, we're Imperialists, occupying is
what we do.
Smart Bomb
Webster - None, I'm afraid Webster doesn't have a
definition for this one;
Gov. Spun - A bomb capable of being guided towards
its intended target;
My Def. - A bomb that can be guided to blow up
civilian buses and ambulances;
Neocon Def. - Smart bombs only blow up dumb
civilians who are not smart enough to
stay out of the way.
Wounded
Webster - Injuries involving the cutting or
breaking of bodily tissue;
Gov. Spun - Minor injuries that heal;
My Def. - Arms, legs and minds blown up,
permanently disabling the person for the
rest of his life;
Neocon Def. - An arm here, a leg there. What the
hell do we care!
We Should All Care! PEACE!