Phrase "Criminal Element" Emerges

From Administration's Orwellian Play book

The White House decided to cover for blowing up a hospital by rolling out a new term for those pesky Iraqis. You see, the terminology has been a perennial problem for the Bush administration and it's even tripped up the otherwise sharp-as-a-bowling-ball John McCain numerous times. So instead of problematic language that might reveal the person speaking doesn't know a Shi'ite from a Sunni, every one we blow up from now on is a "criminal".

From AP:

A US air strike damaged a hospital in the Iraqi capital's violent Shiite stronghold of Sadr City on Saturday, injuring 20 people, as American forces claimed to have killed 14 militiamen.

The US military said it carried out the strike in Sadr City, a bastion of anti-American cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, where US troops in separate confrontations killed at least 14 militiamen since Friday.

"I can confirm that we conducted a strike in Sadr City this morning," a US military spokesman told AFP. "The targets were known criminal elements. Battle damage assessment is currently ongoing."

[...]

The military said it destroyed a "criminal element command and control centre" at approximately 10 am (0700 GMT).

"Intelligence reports indicate the command and control centre was used by criminal elements to plan and coordinate attacks against Iraqi security and coalition forces and innocent Iraqi citizens."

[...]

On Friday, an M1A1 Abrams tanks engaged "criminals" with one round from its main gun after Iraqi army soldiers reported being attacked by small arms fire from a house, the military said.

"Three criminals were killed in the engagements," the military said.

(more)

Criminal element? So we were just taking a swipe at who exactly? Gem thieves pulling a job? Is it the Gambino Family in Iraq?

And by the way something, when John Kerry suggested that the war on terror be fought primarily as a global police action, he was laughed out of the election by a massive number of administrators and pundits who were proven wrong every step of the way, though not to the detriment of their continued employment. Now they tell us these people are criminals?

TAGS: Orwellian, Iraq OCCUPATION, Sadr City, John McCain