Post by duke on Feb 16, 2013 11:36:14 GMT -5
The Blind Theology of Militarism
15 February 13 By David Sirota, Tahoe Daily Tribune
In my years reporting on the intentional narrowing of political vernacular to guarantee specific outcomes, I have encountered no better example of Orwellian newspeak than that which now dominates the conversation about America's drone war. Given that, it's worth reviewing the situation because it is so illustrative of how militarist propaganda operates in the 21st century.
As you know if you've paid attention to recent news, drone war proponents are currently facing inconvenient truths. This month, for instance, they are facing a new United Nations report showing that President Obama's escalation of the Afghanistan War - which is defined, in part, by an escalation in drone airstrikes - is killing hundreds of children "due notably to reported lack of precautionary measures and indiscriminate use of force." They are also facing news that the rise in drone strikes is accompanying a rise in al-Qaida recruits, proving that, in predictable "blowback" fashion, the attacks may be creating more terrorists than they are neutralizing.
Drone-war cheerleaders will no doubt find this news difficult to explain away on the merits. And so many are trying to change the linguistic foundation of the discourse from one rooted in fact to one rooted in a sophistry that narrows the public's perception of available choices.
Sen. Angus King's (I-Maine) comments justifying the drone war last week exemplify the talking points.
"Drones are a lot more civilized than what we used to do," he told a cable television audience. "I think it's actually a more humane weapon because it can be targeted to specific enemies and specific people."
Designed to obscure mounting civilian casualties, King's Orwellian phrase "humane weapon" is the crux of the larger argument. The idea is that an intensifying drone war is necessary - and even humane! - because it is more surgical than violent global ground war, which is supposedly America's only other option. As New York Times columnist David Brooks summed it up: drone strikes are great because "they inflict fewer civilian deaths than bombing campaigns, boots on the ground or any practical alternative." Or, as one drone-war defender put it on Twitter: "Drones? 160,000 pairs of boots on the ground? Hmm." <snip>
readersupportednews.org/opinion2/282-98/16049-david-sirota-the-blind-theology-of-militarism
15 February 13 By David Sirota, Tahoe Daily Tribune
In my years reporting on the intentional narrowing of political vernacular to guarantee specific outcomes, I have encountered no better example of Orwellian newspeak than that which now dominates the conversation about America's drone war. Given that, it's worth reviewing the situation because it is so illustrative of how militarist propaganda operates in the 21st century.
As you know if you've paid attention to recent news, drone war proponents are currently facing inconvenient truths. This month, for instance, they are facing a new United Nations report showing that President Obama's escalation of the Afghanistan War - which is defined, in part, by an escalation in drone airstrikes - is killing hundreds of children "due notably to reported lack of precautionary measures and indiscriminate use of force." They are also facing news that the rise in drone strikes is accompanying a rise in al-Qaida recruits, proving that, in predictable "blowback" fashion, the attacks may be creating more terrorists than they are neutralizing.
Drone-war cheerleaders will no doubt find this news difficult to explain away on the merits. And so many are trying to change the linguistic foundation of the discourse from one rooted in fact to one rooted in a sophistry that narrows the public's perception of available choices.
Sen. Angus King's (I-Maine) comments justifying the drone war last week exemplify the talking points.
"Drones are a lot more civilized than what we used to do," he told a cable television audience. "I think it's actually a more humane weapon because it can be targeted to specific enemies and specific people."
Designed to obscure mounting civilian casualties, King's Orwellian phrase "humane weapon" is the crux of the larger argument. The idea is that an intensifying drone war is necessary - and even humane! - because it is more surgical than violent global ground war, which is supposedly America's only other option. As New York Times columnist David Brooks summed it up: drone strikes are great because "they inflict fewer civilian deaths than bombing campaigns, boots on the ground or any practical alternative." Or, as one drone-war defender put it on Twitter: "Drones? 160,000 pairs of boots on the ground? Hmm." <snip>
readersupportednews.org/opinion2/282-98/16049-david-sirota-the-blind-theology-of-militarism