Milbank Forgetting Usual Liberal "Modus Operendi"

Rumsfeld's War On 'Insurgents'

By Dana Milbank
Wednesday, November 30, 2005; Page A18

Last weekend, while other Americans were watching football and eating leftover turkey, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld ended the Iraqi insurgency.

It was easy, really: He declared that the insurgents would, henceforth, no longer be called insurgents.

"Over the weekend, I thought to myself, 'You know, that gives them a greater legitimacy than they seem to merit,' " Rumsfeld, at a Pentagon briefing yesterday, said of his ban on the I-word. "It was an epiphany," he added, throwing his hands in the air.

Encouraging reporters to consult their dictionaries, the defense secretary said: "These people aren't trying to promote something other than disorder, and to take over that country and turn it into a caliphate and then spread it around the world. This is a group of people who don't merit the word 'insurgency,' I think."

Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Peter Pace, standing at Rumsfeld's side, evidently didn't get the memo about the wording change. Describing combat in Iraq, he paused and said, "I have to use the word 'insurgent' because I can't think of a better word right now."

" 'Enemies of the legitimate Iraqi government' -- how's that?" Rumsfeld proposed.

"What the secretary said," Pace continued, to laughter. But Rumsfeld's new description -- ELIG, if you prefer an acronym -- didn't stick with the general. Smiling, he uttered the forbidden word again while discussing explosive devices.

The secretary recoiled in mock horror. "Sorry, sir," Pace explained. "I'm not trainable today."

It was not the first time the defense secretary sought to reorder the world according to his tastes. Also not for the first time, the world wasn't following his plan. This summer Rumsfeld tried to change the "war on terror" to the "global struggle against violent extremism," or GSAVE. President Bush ended that plan.

This time, it's the Joint Chiefs chairman, still new to the job, who isn't marching to Rumsfeld's orders.

When UPI's Pam Hess asked about torture by Iraqi authorities, Rumsfeld replied that "obviously, the United States does not have a responsibility" other than to voice disapproval.

I understand Milbank's objection, with his rather limited intellect, Dana apparently has difficulty with his long term memory. Allow me to assist him. Dana, Liberals such as yourself, love to point out to Conservatives how important the impact of words is. We just had an example of that kind of "new-speak" when those in the Milbank world objected to the use of the word "refugees" in reference to the "refugees" from the two hurricanes back during the summer. Or perhaps we should discuss the evolving "mot de jour," for describing the various minority groups, e.g. "negro," "colored," "Afro-American," "black," African-American." I'm surprised that it took so long for Rumsfeld to attempt to make this change, and equally surprised (not really) to hear such a dedicated Liberal like Milbank whine about it.

Full Story: Idiot Calling the Kettle Black

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