Episode 193: How Military Jargon and Cliches Make Mass Death Seem Sterile (Part II)
\u201cU.S. shipment of 'lethal aid' reaches Ukraine amid Russia tensions,\u201d NBC News reported in January 2022. \u201cU.S. adopting 'deterrence posture' as aircraft carrier heads towards Israel,\u201d France 24 announced in October 2023. The same month, The Hill warned about \u201cNutrition: The national security threat no one is talking about.\u201d \xa0 This is part two of our two-part episode on the language of war. Last week, we discussed terms like \u201cboots on the ground\u201d and \u201cmilitary footprint;\u201d \u201cprecision\u201d or \u201ctargeted airstrikes;\u201d \u201cterrorism\u201d and the very Orwellian phrase \u201cenemy noncombatant.\u201d \xa0 If you haven\u2019t listened to that episode, we definitely encourage you to do so. On this episode, we examine more of the most insidious terms that U.S. media and government officials use to sanitize military aggression worldwide, how this is affecting coverage of Israel\u2019s nonstop murderous bombing of Gaza, and discuss how we all can and should use clearer, more accurate terms to describe the real human stakes of state violence. \xa0 Our guests are Maha Hilal and David Vine. \xa0