"kinetic event"

[Jonathan Lighter]

Actually "IUDs" don't really count. "IEDs" presumably count.

JL

On Mon, Sep 13, 2010 at 8:12 AM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com>wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      "kinetic event"
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>
> CNN reports that the Defense Department counted nearly five thousand
> "kinetic events" in Afghanistan last month.
>
> Candy Crowley explained that that meant "attacks," though I'm not clear
> about by whom. The Taliban? NATO? Both?
>
> I suspect it's slightly more complicated than that, since "attack" suggests
> bullets or shells rather than IUDs. Nonetheless, the phrase is open
> to justifiable derision.
>
> Unlike "collateral damage," "kinetic event" sounds deceptive from the
> get-go. It's also so inclusive as to result in higher numbers and the
> suggestion of greater violence than might be suggested by a more detailed
> breakdown.
>
> JL
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
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