Thursday, December 21, 2006
"Surge" new-speak for "Escalate"
The buzzword-of-the-month is "surge." As in, "President Bush wants to surge the number of U.S. troops in ________________." (Fill in the name of the once-sovereign country of your choice)
That's bullshit, of course. The word is "escalate," although for the neo-cons that might have some bad connotations with Viet Nam. We kept "surging" troops there, but all it did was squander more money and ruin more lives than if we'd simply packed up and gone home in, say, 1965. But, people don't read history. Particularly not politicians, but I think they're at least aware they can get away with that because nobody else reads it, either. They do hire advisors who read history, sure: just so they don't have to come up with any new ideas...
So, fuck "surge." And the horse All the President's Men and Women Rode In On.
That's bullshit, of course. The word is "escalate," although for the neo-cons that might have some bad connotations with Viet Nam. We kept "surging" troops there, but all it did was squander more money and ruin more lives than if we'd simply packed up and gone home in, say, 1965. But, people don't read history. Particularly not politicians, but I think they're at least aware they can get away with that because nobody else reads it, either. They do hire advisors who read history, sure: just so they don't have to come up with any new ideas...
So, fuck "surge." And the horse All the President's Men and Women Rode In On.
