Bush Buzz Words

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Categorized | North America, The Middle East

Posted on 05 September 2007

Columnist - John Sammon
As President Bush goes into spin overdrive to convince the American people we’re winning in Iraq, listen to the words he and his cronies use.

The current in-word is “progress.”

George Bush This has been a word-smithed war….in which buzz words, good sounding words, are used to sell the war like they sell soap on television. A result of the first presidency, (or maybe the second, Clinton’s was the first), in which the president and his boys including Ms. C. Rice are as media savvy as any Hollywood hucksters.

Progress?

Progress has partially replaced “surge” as the new buzz word. The president wants to show us that the tiny bit of progress if there is any, is in reality a huge amount of progress, so that he can keep this war going for another two years, in the hope of some kind of decisive Waterloo-style military victory.

Basically, the plan right now is the same as Vietnam, hope the other side gets tired and gives up.

The Democrats meanwhile believe there has not been enough “progress.” But they are likely to remain moribund lest they be called “unpatriotic,” an old old buzz word dating back before the McCarthy era in the 1950s that can be called out of the closet any time liberal subversives make trouble.

Just what progress in Iraq is remains vague, but there are twelve or more so-called “benchmarks” (another war buzz word), for determining it. According to Bush, achievement of two out of fifteen benchmarks is real significant progress.

Other buzz words used in the past include “be patient,” and, “I’m the decider.”

Bush one time called opponents of the war a “focal group.” But those buzz words, in reality a spin slogan, never caught on.

As for the word “surge,” most of us know that means flooding a small area with a lot of troops to give one the impression that greater order has been restored. In that small area.

What’s incredible is, the word surge practically sings out by its very definition, TEMPORARY, TEMPORARY, TEMPORARY.

A tidal surge comes in, a tidal surge goes out. Even in New Orleans. Never in history has there been a permanent surge. Therefore, the surge is temporary. We know it or should. The enemy certainly knows it and has made necessary adjustments..

Bush is trying to say, see, there isn’t as much violence in this one area, knowing that the surge can’t be maintained forever. The enemy knows this too.

So Bush is trying to give the allusion of “security,” another buzz word.

Another buzz word used by war planners is “training.” Training. We’re “training” Iraqi forces friendly to us. Training them to some day “take over.” What they don’t tell you is, we’re also training the insurgents we’re fighting. They get hands-on experience fighting us. So they learn by experience.

So, the best case scenario is, both our Iraqi allies and the insurgents are getting better at warfare because of our training.

Bush will use all these buzz words to sell you the war.

Buzz words out of the past were “shock and awe.” This was supposed to describe our power at intimidating the bloody savages with our military power way back when we thought the war was going to be a cakewalk, back when Bush posed beside the “Mission Accomplished” sign.

When Bush and General Petraeus, who is to deliver a supposedly unbiased report on the situation later this month, go on the air, watch for the use of these key words. They serve a purpose.

To sell you. To “stay the course.” Another buzz word. Buzz phrase rather.

Reference: Impeachment buzz.(Political Eye) : An article from: The Progressive

Book Review: By McMac “iMacNut” (Sonoma County, CA) - See all my reviews

This book recaps much of what we have already heard about “Dubya’s” corrupt and incompetent administration. No theme was developed beyond a cursory brushover. But why should have Zinn regurgitated all that we already know in a long running tome? It would have been redundant. However, if you are inclined, buy this book and thirty years down the line, in 2037, give it to your grand kids so they might read a good summary of just how dangerous and disgraceful Bush’s 8 years in office really were. Hopefully Zinn will have to write a postscript some day about the endless crimes for which many of Bush’s lieutenants were jailed -and- hopefully Bush himself. For such a work I might stick around for another 30 years!