Show Originally Aired: 4/2/2003 CALL 1 800-423-TALK
The Language of War
Clockwise: General Tommy Franks, Brigadier General Vince Brooks, Gen. Richard Myers, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (AP) Email to friend
After softening up hot killboxes and deconflicting the airspace, American ground troops are now in the red zone. Translation? In the language of war, "softening up" means bombing, and "killboxes" are grids locating targets. "Deconflicting the airspace" means making sure American and British airplanes don't crash into each other. And the red zone, a football term referring to the last 20 yards before the goal line, is the perimeter of Baghdad.
Every profession has its jargon. It lets insiders communicate. But every war also has language that dis-informs. George Orwell once said such language is "designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable and to give the appearance of solidity to pure wind."
