It's not a war

Wednesday, July 18, 2007 by Dave Winer.

I find myself yelling at the TV when Bush talks about "the front" in "the war." 

It's not a war and there is no front.  

It's much worse. In a war with a front the troops who are not on the front lines are under much less pressure than the ones at the front. In most wars the front-line troops die in great numbers. They rotate troops in and out so that only a very small number are at such high risk at any time.  

In Iraq, which is an occupation, not a war, all our troops are at equally high risk any time they are off-base.  

This is a very subtle way our leaders lie. They use the logic of war. Most Americans probably aren't aware that it's a lie. That's why I edit my pieces so where ever I would say "war" I say "occupation." You should do it too.