We know that Western officials can't speak frankly and literally about what they're doing in Libya but the literal meaning of the words they use does keep poking us. David Cameron said that the bombing of Qaddafi's compound was consistent with the Security Council mandate to stop a "loss of civilian life by targeting Qaddafi's war-making machine." What is his brain but a war-making machine? Target it, then.
I can hear the targeter defending himself in the inner circle. "What do you want me to do, collateral the bastard?" "Collateral damage" has already produced a verb, and it hasn't occurred to anybody yet that Qaddafi's brain is the big command and control center.
How refreshing it now must be to speak about Osama bin Laden, to say, in the inner circle, "We got him," and then say the same thing outside. A rare pleasure in political life.
No comments:
Post a Comment