Episode 192: How Military Jargon and Cliches Make Mass Death Seem Sterile (Part I)
Added 2023-11-08 17:56:04 +0000 UTC“Israel Called Them ‘Precision’ Strikes. But Civilian Homes Were Hit, Too.,” The New York Times equivocated back in May 2023. “US Military Footprint in Australia Expands to Counter China,” Bloomberg announced in July 2023. “NATO to launch biggest military exercise since Cold War,” the Financial Times reported in September 2023.
Far too often, media accept and parrot the terminology of the Pentagon, never pausing to consider how deceptive and pernicious this language may be. War reportage is regularly littered with euphemisms, metaphors, jargon, and esoteric acronyms that obscure the enormity of the warfare and war crimes waged and backed by the US, warping public perceptions of the violence happening throughout the world in service of US empire.
Some major news outlets, such as the New York Times, have adopted policies not to use terms like “enhanced interrogation techniques,” a Bush-era phrase used to sanitize the committing, sanctioning and outsourcing of literal torture by the US government. More recently, the BBC has said it will no longer use the term “terrorist,” as it is “a loaded word, which people use about an outfit they disapprove of morally.” But, troublingly, many loaded, euphemistic words and phrases remain in the vocabulary of leading news media, painting a woefully inaccurate and incomplete picture of both the past and the current state of US-led and US-backed violence around the world.
On this episode, Part I of a two-part series on the language of war, we’ll examine five of the 10 most insidious terms that US media and government officials use to sanitize military aggression worldwide, discussing how journalists, writers, and others in media can use terms that are clearer and more representative of the human stakes of war. Next week, we’ll complete the list of 10 with Part II.
Our guests are Maha Hilal and David Vine.
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Guests
Dr. Maha Hilal is a researcher, writer, and organizer. Founder and Executive Director of the Muslim Counterpublics Lab, Maha is also the author of the book, Innocent until Proven Muslim: Islamophobia, The War on Terror and the Muslim Experience Since 9/11, published by Broadleaf Books.
Dr. David Vine is Professor of Political Anthropology at American University in Washington, DC. He is the author of a number of books about war and peace, including Base Nation: How U.S. Military Bases Abroad Harm America and the World and Island of Shame: The Secret History of the U.S. Military Base on Diego Garcia. His latest book is The United States of War: A Global History of America's Endless Conflicts, from Columbus to the Islamic State, published by University of California Press.
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Show Notes
Words about War Matter: A Language Guide for Discussing War and Foreign Policy
David Vine, et al. | September 2023 | War Prevention Initiative
Language Use about Gaza: Ten Urgent Suggestions
David Vine, et al. | October 2023 | War Prevention Initiative
Raz Segal | October 13, 2023 | Jewish Currents
On Language: Boots On The Ground
William Safire | November 7, 2008 | The New York Times
William Safire | May 4, 1986 | The New York Times
Calling U.S. Drone Strikes 'Surgical' Is Orwellian Propaganda
Conor Friedersdorf | September 27, 2012 | The Atlantic
One year since Gaza: Why there’s no such thing as a ‘precision strike’
Natasha Roth-Rowland | July 2, 2015 | +972 Magazine
Targeting: Precision Bombing and the Production of Ethics
Maja Zehfuss | February 2018 | War and the Politics of Ethics
Modern warfare: ‘precision’ missiles will not stop civilian deaths – here’s why
Peter Lee | November 19, 2021 | The Conversation
Where in the World Is the U.S. Military?
David Vine | July/August 2015 | Politico Magazine
US military presence around the world
Mohammed Hussein and Mohammed Haddad | September 10, 2021 | Al Jazeera
Words Matter: The Many Meanings of Terrorism
Verena Erlenbusch-Anderson | October 26, 2018 | Columbia University Press Blog
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Transcript
For a full transcript of this episode, go here. You can find transcripts of past episodes and News Briefs here.
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Citations Merch
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Credits
Senior Producer: Florence Barrau-Adams
Producer: Julianne Tveten
Production Assistant: Trendel Lightburn
Newsletter: Marco Cartolano
Transcription: Mahnoor Imran
Music: Grandaddy
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Comments
One request- you've done many excellent episodes on the plight of the Palestinians and how the media distorts coverage of these issues. Could you perhaps list all of these so we can find and re-listen? Thanks.
Jonathan Penn
2023-11-10 10:41:39 +0000 UTCAn excellent episode! I have grown so sick of such euphemisms as "collateral damage," etc. And that lovely one, "precision strikes." As someone smarter than me said, "Smart weaponry very precisely hits the wrong targets as frequently as the "right" ones, hence "collateral damage." Thanks for helping peel away the masks from these abuses of language.
Jonathan Penn
2023-11-10 10:40:26 +0000 UTC
