vi5
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Tue Sep-07-04 10:19 AM
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Can someone explain "fifth column" to me? |
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I know the term somehow is used frequently by the right to refer to liberals or the media or other groups they regard as somehow treasonous. But what is the meaning of the term, where does it come from, and to what does it refer. I honestly have no idea.
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soothsayer
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Tue Sep-07-04 10:21 AM
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ear Matt: Great question! The Fifth Column. The Fourth Estate. The Third Man. All of these phrases can get confusing. According to Britannica.com, a fifth column refers to any clandestine group or faction of subversive agents who attempt to undermine a nation's solidarity.
Who came up with the phrase, and what's with the columns? Emilio Mola Vidal, a Nationalist general during the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), originally coined the term. As four of his army columns moved on Madrid, the general referred to his militant supporters within the capital as his "fifth column," intent on undermining the loyalist government from within.
So the fifth column is a group of secret sympathizers or supporters of an enemy that engage in espionage or sabotage within defense lines or national borders. Recent conflicts have had their fifth columns: Iraqi insurgents in the Gulf War, Cuban rebels in the Bay of Pigs. Those columns didn't fare quite as well.
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wurzel
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Tue Sep-07-04 10:31 AM
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5. By that definition the media is a Republican "Fifth Column". |
BrotherBuzz
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Tue Sep-07-04 11:27 AM
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But in my world, when the Forth Estate is in bed with the enemy, we at DU become part of the Fifth Column.
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wurzel
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Tue Sep-07-04 01:34 PM
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9. Without this internet we wouldn't have a prayer. |
Cleita
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Tue Sep-07-04 11:42 AM
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8. The Project For A New American Century would be the Fifth |
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Column in this country by that definition. I think any institution like the media that is controlled by them would be part of the Fifth Column, not the entire column itself.
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amber dog democrat
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Tue Sep-07-04 10:21 AM
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2. I think it has to do with the collapse of the French Republic |
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in 1940. This refers to Marshall Petain and Vichy ?
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mopinko
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Tue Sep-07-04 10:25 AM
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there's this, but http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fifth_columnit was my understanding that it most recently referred to japanese citizens during wwII. this was part of the rationalization for the interment camps.
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LuminousX
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Tue Sep-07-04 10:25 AM
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http://www.bartleby.com/61/31/F0113100.htmlOrigins are the Spanish 4 columns attacking the 5th.
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Tierra_y_Libertad
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Tue Sep-07-04 10:44 AM
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6. It was from the Spanish Civil War. |
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Edited on Tue Sep-07-04 10:48 AM by bandera
The "Fifth Column" was the supposed fascist supporters in Madrid who were to rise up against the Republic and join the 4 columns besieging the city.
It now refers to traitors inside almost anything.
Hence, Zell Miller is a 5th columnist. For we on the left, the DLC is the Democratic Party's 5th column.
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Sun May 05th 2024, 03:45 PM
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