Pentagon Iraq writing guide for US Media

[papau]

Pentagon Iraq writing guide for US Media.

Words not to be used in this week's stories:

Do not use or quote Secretary Rumsfield’s past use of the words/phrases: bomb, ambush, WMD, mopping-up operations, sabotage, anarchy, dead-enders. shock and awe, light at the end of the tunnel, or any discussion by the Secretary about the US Weapon system called the Crusader. We are losing credibility due to excessive derision.

Since March we have asked that attacks on U.S. forces not be described as sophisticated, coordinated, or synchronized, but for you to use words like “a bunch of amateurs, trying to indicate that Baghdad isn’t secure - which couldn’t be further from the truth” and other derision phrases. Due to recent the increase in attacks that request is no longer operative, as a bit of creeping realism/counter-optimism is now needed to maintain President Bushes credibility. You may now use coordinated, or synchronized, but not sophisticated.

We continue to require the following words in all stories: making progress, Iraqification; with any disagreement with Iraqification from those on the right of the President, if such exist, to be expressed as Premature Iraqification in lieu of “ineffective Vietnamization”.

The mines or bombs that kill U.S. troops or their Iraqi allies will continue to be called improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, and there shall be no mention that they come from the arsenal of Saddam Hussein’s army. Indeed the euphemism LSAs — Looted from Saddam’s Arsenal – is not permitted.

We continue to forbid the use of resistance or guerrillas and require the use of Baathist holdouts, noncompliant forces, Baathists and regime remnants.

Thank you.


(attribution: of the lexicon idea only - to Mike Moran - Mike writes much better than I :-) )