Thursday, November 30, 2006

What hangs on a word?

*
(Mike Keefe, Denver Post)

War or
CIVIL war?

Over the past week, the media have -- finally -- taken to describing the state of affairs in Iraq as a CIVIL WAR.

George W. Bush has resisted strenuously.

Why?
A lot hangs on a word.

Admitting that Iraq has sunk into a civil war will be admitting that his policies have failed utterly.

You can understand a man of President Bush's temperament NOT wanting to admit failure.

Many people believe he has done nothing but fail upward his whole life. But this would not be an UPWARD failure, as his father and friends have been able to make all the others.

This one is the end of the road.

But more important than President Bush's self-esteem is what the realization that US troops are bogged down in a civil war in a foreign country means for EVERYONE ELSE.

Parents will be asking why their children should die in another country's civil war.

Enlistees will be asking why they should die in another country's civil war.

EVERYONE will be asking why our kids should die in another country's civil war.

Bush, however, seems to have dug his heels in. He has his own answer to the question.

In Riga, Latvia, on Tuesday, he said, "There's one thing I'm not going to do, I'm not going to pull our troops off the battlefield before the mission is complete. [...] We can accept nothing less than victory for our children and our grandchildren."

And minutes ago, in an NPR sound clip, Bush said, "We're gonna stay in Iraq to get the job done..." (8:30 AM)

A lot hangs on this word.

-- Dan Damon

Timeline of media references to CIVIL WAR:

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1 comment:

Anonymous said...

A "devout" Republican friend shared a joke with me. George Bush the father, speaking with his son: "Son, you made the same mistake I made with your Mother - not pulling out soon enough."