At no other time in American history has the (American) English language taken such a beating. And I don't mean the manglings by Our Supreme Leader in his speeches, either. Prisoners of War become 'enemy combatants' so we don't have to follow the protocols of the Geneva Accords. Threats against Iran become diplomacy. Insurgents become terrorists and permanent bases become an exit strategy.
Now two American soldiers have been 'abducted' by masked gun men. I guess that makes it sound more like a crime has been committed than saying they were captured, thereby making criminals out of the perpetrators. Now, I hope these men get back home safely to their families. It goes without saying that if the current administration didn't have such a hard-on for the Iraqi oil, none of this would have happened. But of all the Iraqis in US custody, not to mention the 'enemy combatants' at Guantanamo, how many of them were abducted? All? Some ? None?
Perhaps this is a new strategy of the insurgency, rather than kill Americans, which has no effect on the Bush regime or it's supporters, a dead soldier is just one more veteran whose benefits they don't have to cut five years from now. A prisoner of war, or 'kidnap victim', is more than just a bargaining chip, it is a source of anxiety for a nation already uneasy about a war we were assured would be quick and painless. Now forces must be diverted to a rescue in order to save the chickenhawks from getting egg on their face.
Why? Remember the photos of Iraqis at the hands of American soldiers at Abu Ghraib? How would we react to American servicemen in the same type of poses? Not a pretty picture, but who was the one who opened up that pandora's box in the first place? This is why America shouldn't be condoning torture, or issue signing statements to laws forbidding torture that state we're not going to follow this law. Because there will come a time when our soldiers will be captured by enemy forces. Our complaints won't be taken seriously because we're doing the same things ourselves. And the people responsible for these atrocities in the current administration will fail to take any responsibility at all, because they lacked the foresight to see this happening.
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7 comments:
Yes Lew! How true. These jack offs can't see past their own pussified noses. They don't get it. We ultimatly determin what happens to us by our actions. And sweet Jesus in a snowcone, what these guys are doing with language! talk about doublespeak. I saw the special today on Link tv called Orwell's rolling in his grave. It had Amy goodman and Greg Palast... what scary shit they talked about, stuff we NEVER hear on the news. (mmust stop, balls ready to burst!)
You are right on the spot here, Lews. Another stretch of the language is calling illegal immigrants, aliens. That's how they twist the minds of average Americans. They must have a department of Hate Marketing gurus.
And as a corallary, I fear that the next step is to begin apply military terms to lawful protest here in the US. Section 802 of the Patriot Act has already expanded the definition of "domestic terrorism" to the point that it could be applied without restraint by an adminitration so inclined. As Bu$hCo and the states further restrict lawful speech into zones where it will have little or no impact, it's not hard to envision the reclassification of protesters as terrorists. The DoD is already doing this internally.
awesome. I agree 100%. especially about he insurgent=terrorist thing. We are already seeing that even after Zarqawi's death, the insurgency is fueled by the occupation, not terrorists.
...who was the one who opened up that pandora's box in the first place?
We did and those two servicemen had to pay the price in a most horrible way because of it.
kathy,
Exactly.
Sadly it turned out awful for these soldiers. Hopefully the cries of pain and death will follow this administration around for the rest of their pampered lives.
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