If we take "obliterate" literally, it means to cause to disappear.

The media seem to be overeager to undercut Trump's accomplishment by saying that he said the word "obliteration" but there's actually — possibly — something left. 

From this morning's news: "Trump reveals Israel sent agents to Iran’s bombed nuclear sites to confirm their 'total obliteration.'"

He seems determined not to abandon his word of choice, "obliteration."

How literally do we take "obliteration"? Really hardcore literalism would require that the thing be wiped from human memory. "Ob-" means against and "littera" means letter. Strike out the text. It's what Orwell's "memory hole" did. 

So how have we been using the word "obliterate" in recent years? Here's what I've noticed in the past 2 decades, just 11 examples taken from this blog's archive.

1. Quoting Hillary Clinton: "If [Obama] does not have the gumption to put me in my place, when superdelegates are deserting me, money is drying up, he’s outspending me 2-to-1 on TV ads, my husband’s going crackers and party leaders are sick of me, how can he be trusted to totally obliterate Iran and stop Osama?"

2. Quoting Camille Paglia: "Democrats are doing this in collusion with the media obviously, because they just want to create chaos... They want to completely obliterate any sense that the Trump administration is making any progress on anything... I am appalled at the behavior of the media...."

3. Quoting Trump: "As I have stated strongly before, and just to reiterate, if Turkey does anything that I, in my great and unmatched wisdom, consider to be off limits, I will totally destroy and obliterate the Economy of Turkey (I’ve done before!)."

4. Trump on Mother's Day: "Happy Mother’s Day to ALL, in particular the Mothers, Wives and Lovers of the Radical Left Fascists, Marxists, and Communists who are doing everything within their power to destroy and obliterate our once great Country. Please make these complete Lunatics and Maniacs Kinder, Gentler, Softer and, most importantly, Smarter, so that we can, quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!"

5. "'Bomb North Korea, Before It’s Too Late.' That's the title of an op-ed in the NYT by a Jeremi Suri, a history/public affairs prof.... 'The United States should use a precise airstrike to render the missile and its mobile launcher inoperable. President Obama should state clearly and forthrightly that this is an act of self-defense in response to explicit threats from North Korea and clear evidence of a prepared weapon.'...  And here's Rush Limbaugh, a couple days ago: 'Folks, we have discovered the missile silos in North Korea. We know where they are. My question is, why are they not rubble? If we know where they are and we haven't taken them out, what is this automatic assumption that if they launch, we are going to obliterate their country? Do any of you believe that would happen? I'm serious. North Korea launches nukes at us. They can't hit us yet, so they fall whatever hundreds, thousands of miles short. But the intent was clear. You think we'd retaliate?'"

6. "Trump isn't telling them what to do, but he is telling them what to do. Here's the full transcript of Trump's speech in Saudi Arabia...'This is not a battle between different faiths, different sects, or different civilizations. This is a battle between barbaric criminals who seek to obliterate human life, and decent people of all religions who seek to protect it. This is a battle between Good and Evil. When we see the scenes of destruction in the wake of terror, we see no signs that those murdered were Jewish or Christian, Shia or Sunni. When we look upon the streams of innocent blood soaked into the ancient ground, we cannot see the faith or sect or tribe of the victims -- we see only that they were Children of God whose deaths are an insult to all that is holy."

7.  "'Obama’s Effort on Ethics Bill Had Role in Governor’s Fall.' That's the headline on the lead article in the NYT right now. Why am I getting the feeling that the mainstream media will do what it can to obliterate the connection between Rod Blagojevich and Barack Obama?"

8. "'The film, sponsored by the [Chinese] government, depicts an against-all-odds American defeat in a battle known in the United States as the Battle of Chosin Reservoir.'.... Statement from the People’s Liberation Army: 'Some individuals still try to completely deny the War of Resistance against the United States and Aid Korea, question the justice of sending troops, and try to erase the great victory. No matter how they distort, obliterate, falsify, tease and denigrate the facts, history is written in the hearts of the people.'"

9. "These presidential journeys to console the community [after a mass murder] — when do they work? How can a President obliterate the perception that it's a political stunt? Obama could do it...."

10. Quoting RFK Jr., describing his reaction to his father's statement that if nuclear war came, you'll be better off dead: "I, for one, intended to be among the survivors. Nuclear holocaust, I reasoned, could hardly be worse than school. I had never really caught on to academics, and my grades were disappointing at best. I was pretty confident that nuclear war would end school and obliterate my 'permanent record.'"

11.  "Why is DeSantis peeling an orange?"

 

"... So I'm convinced that Time intends the orange to be seen as Trump's head. The Daily Mail calls it a painting, so I'm going to assume that this is an artist's illustration and they didn't get DeSantis to pose holding and tearing into an orange. Notice the juice dripping down all over his hands. Such brutal orange peeling! Brutal and messy. What man in a suit would handle an orange like that? The idea is that's Trump's head and the powerful, remorseless DeSantis will obliterate the orange man."