See! What did I say

I said we were being softened up and sure enough . . . This is an Israeli-style retaliation operation, all gussied up with veils of weasel words about "hunting down the bad guys" and a "precise operation" and "targeting the insurgents". There's that "insurgents" word again. Where did these evil insurgents insurge from? And if they really believed it was only insurgents, how would blowing up homes in Fallujah "target insurgents"? And people who have seen the TV footage (I have not, I can't bear to see it) say that a lot of the mob appeared to be young boys. As I said before, how can you tell in a mob situation who killed, who "only" mutilated a body, who "only" cheered the others on, and who was just caught in the wrong place, with a nervous grin, fearing for his life?
Frankly, I think the blogosphere brouhaha about mercenaries is missing the point. What matters is what the coalition are doing in our name. And the names they come up with for these little forays! Vigilant Resolve. Could anything be more sick-making?
Jeanne of Body and Soul also found Orwellian echoes in the response to Fallujah, but focuses on the action rather than the words, in her post called Orwell's Elephant.
Jeanne also links to a very good analytical article from the LA Times about the options (none of them good) facing the military now in the "Sunni Triangle" and how a more intelligent approach to pacifying the area early in the war could have prevented the present intractable problems.