Another Newspeak entry

November 3, 2003

Transfer Tubes: This is the term used by the Pentagon to describe the containers used to transport the bodies of the servicemen killed in Iraq and Afghanistan back to the United States. Body bags apparently didn’t have quite the right ring to it, nor did “human remains pouches”, which was what boby bags were called begining with the 1991 Gulf War. This according to an article in the Toronto Star.

This article illustrates the ongoing propaganda campaign aimed at keeping the messy parts of the war out of the public eye. I can almost concede that perhaps the press should be restricted access to the Dover, Delware Air Force base where the casualties of war are delivered. But why hasn’t the president who said “Bring ’em on!” felt compelled to attend just one of the 359 funerals of the soldiers who have given their lives for his war? The press and administration both seem to be neglecting the 1,700 men and women injured in the war being treated at Walter Reed Army Medical Centre in Washington and awaiting treatment at Fort Stewart in Georgia.

Then there is news of more Orwellian type activities by the White House in this article in the Australian newspaper; The Age. Apparently the White House no longer allows search engines such as Google to archive material on the White House web site. This was noticed when it was discovered that archived pages that claimed “combat” was over in Iraq have been changed to read “major combat”.

I really want to believe that the current administration is simply inept or misguided but it gets harder and harder to give these guys the benefit of the doubt when they keep pulling stuff like this. The situation in Iraq shouldn’t be spun to suit the presidents approval rating. These men and women that sacrificed life and limb deserve better than to be swept under the rug. And why is it that we are reading any of this in any of the supposedly “liberal media” newspapers here in the United States?

Also, I know I blogged on 1984 a while back. One of the most amazing and prescient books I’ve ever read. Really, if you haven’t read it you really should. Some of the parallels to the events of today are truly frightening. It’s available online here.