Althouse: "Kinetic."

March 24, 2011

"Kinetic."

Is that word helping explain anything?

96 comments:

Chennaul said...: I think we are in for one hell of a roller coaster ride.; 3/24/11, 8:57 PM
chickelit said...: It sounds cinematic.; 3/24/11, 8:59 PM
Automatic_Wing said...: It explains a lot about the Obama administration.; 3/24/11, 9:01 PM
Gordon Freece said...: It's helping to clarify just how much contempt this administration has for their groupies in the media. "Kinetic" means the military is applying physical force to somebody. In English, that's called a "war".

Dear Obama fans: He's laughing at you because every time he humiliates you, you beg for more. It's like Bob Dylan playing decades of deliberately horrendous concerts to rub his fans' faces in what blind, uncritical sycophants they are. What do his fans do? They beg for encores and buy more tickets.

It's not a healthy relationship in either case.; 3/24/11, 9:02 PM
chickelit said...: Actually, I suspect it's deliberate obfuscation.

"Kinetic" also has a special meaning for me: link; 3/24/11, 9:02 PM
Synova said...: Oh, for the love of Pete.

Just say "police action" and get it over with. Saying "kinetic" does not make you sound like the military fellow you heard use it to distinguish between all other aspects of a military campaign and the "breaking things and killing people" part.; 3/24/11, 9:03 PM
rhhardin said...: If they consider causes as well, then it's dynamics.; 3/24/11, 9:05 PM
Chennaul said...: Kinetic=Dropping bombs.; 3/24/11, 9:06 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: My stepmother's broom was not Stanley.. It was 'Kinetic' ;); 3/24/11, 9:06 PM
Wince said...: War is kinetic military action.

Freedom hurts working families.

Ignorance is FoxNews.; 3/24/11, 9:07 PM
KT said...: The show Community made a big reference to My Dinner With Andre tonight. Just FYI; 3/24/11, 9:10 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: By The Time I Get To 'Kinetic'.; 3/24/11, 9:11 PM
traditionalguy said...: Kinetic is the opposite of paralyzed. But Obama as usual is lying because he is using weak half measures commanded by no one who will admit to it to hide the fact that we are paralyzed into doing nothing that is in America's interest...but being spastically kinetic at the same time.; 3/24/11, 9:11 PM
Quaestor said...: The next thing we'll learn from the Administration's spokespersons is that we've always been engaged in kinetic military action with Eurasia; 3/24/11, 9:12 PM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Why would Ben Rhodes, a 30 year-old speechwriter, and wet behind the ears pisant of a communications major even think anyone would want his opinion?

wv = gonode [Ben's nickname]; 3/24/11, 9:13 PM
Chennaul said...: Has Obama signaled when he is going to make a formal address to the American people?; 3/24/11, 9:14 PM
Nora said...: I think that in this context the word has an opposite purpose - to confuse. Since there are so many people with intellectual pretences among the media "reporters" the hopes are that using vague words would prevent questioning, because these types would rather node than ask question that might show they don't know what it's about.

'kinetic' just means that some movement is involved. Unless some journo asks for clear defuinition of what this word means in military context, the word means only that - movement/moving.; 3/24/11, 9:14 PM
madAsHell said...: I have no experience in the military....much like the commander-in-chief, but I have read military blogs...and kinetic means that bullets are flying.

Obama, and his advisors...don't understand the lingo.; 3/24/11, 9:17 PM
yashu said...: Fantastic! It rivals "man caused disaster" among the great Orwellian redescriptions crafted for us by this administration. Aren't we lucky to have such skilled contortionists of language in power (as opposed to inarticulate dunces like Bush, who used embarrassingly simplistic words like "evil").; 3/24/11, 9:19 PM
Chennaul said...: Holy crap.

AllahPundit at Hot Air linked to this at Politico.

******
President Barack Obama is resisting pressure to deliver an Oval Office speech explaining his policy on Libya — in part, because he doesn’t want to equate what he regards as a smaller, time-limited mission with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Administration officials haven’t ruled out a big speech, but Obama is reluctant to make a major address on Libya until the United States hands over most command and combat duties to its allies.

That’s not to say the president won’t talk about Libya over the next few days, aides say, but he’s not likely to succumb to pressure to deliver a long, explanatory address to outline his elusive endgame to the nation until the path ahead becomes clearer.

******; 3/24/11, 9:21 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: We have a puppy half Kinetic and half Pitbull..

He was bred by a union thug ;); 3/24/11, 9:22 PM
kent said...: Is that word helping explain anything?

Just serving as further confirmation (as if any were genuinely needed, really) that -- vote for vote; pound for pound -- Obama's gleefully knob-gobbling groupies still reign uncontested as THE supremely slack-jawed electoral yokels of all known time and space. Again.

"Same as it ever was..."; 3/24/11, 9:22 PM
rhhardin said...: It might be a typo for kinesic, meaning it's body language.

In fact that seems likely.; 3/24/11, 9:23 PM
Chennaul said...: Let's see Carter at least strapped on his sweater and explained to America how the US Olympic athletes would have to sacrifice after years of training when he decided to boycott the Moscow Olympics.

But hell if an Air Force of Navy pilot loses his life....not the same thing.

Plus I think this might cost the American tax payer a little more.; 3/24/11, 9:25 PM
george said...: There is really no outrage this administration will not commit. Obama has butchered the English language worse than George Bush ever did but that is the least of our worries.

There is only one reason to use language like Obama does... and that is to lie. You don't need to say "overseas contingency operations", "kinetic military action" (as if there is some sort of non-kinetic action... in which case he will get the Nobel for physics to go with his peace prize) or "man made disasters" unless your intent is to lie and obfuscate.

Obama is either stupid and easily distracted by bright shiny objects or he thinks we are. Given we have yet to see ANY evidence of his vaunted intellect I can only conclude he just isn't all that bright.; 3/24/11, 9:26 PM
Wince said...: Kinetic military action.

Not to be confused with...

Kinetoscopic cat boxing and pillow fighting.

Kinetoscopic cock fight.; 3/24/11, 9:27 PM
kent said...: Obama is either stupid and easily distracted by bright shiny objects or he thinks we are.

Objection. Assumption of "either/or" scenario not borne out by available evidence. ;); 3/24/11, 9:29 PM
Quaestor said...: Nora wrote: 'kinetic' just means that some movement is involved. Unless some journo asks for clear defuinition of what this word means in military context, the word means only that - movement/moving.

The phrase kinetic military action is a near to meaningless is as it is possible to be in spoken English without being literal gibberish. The press is being played for fools, a role to which they have become more and more accustomed since the campaign season of 2008.; 3/24/11, 9:29 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: To compare Obama to president Jimmy Carter is an insult to the former president.; 3/24/11, 9:30 PM
Chennaul said...: You know I think I was in Canada at the time -didn't Carter give a speech to the American public about boycotting the Moscow Olympics?

I tried to find it on youtube but could not.

It would be funny though just to get the "Carter is more manly than Obama" comparison.; 3/24/11, 9:33 PM
Chennaul said...: I mean who is Obama afraid of-

Code Pink?; 3/24/11, 9:34 PM
kent said...: To compare Obama to president Jimmy Carter is an insult to the former president.

Comparing him to either the '70s era Billy or Amy Carter, on the other hand, is an intellectually defensible option, absolutely.; 3/24/11, 9:36 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Jimmy Carter would at least ask his daughter Amy..

Obama is no where to be found.. an MIA president.. in fact while Obama was away, the staff had to lock the doors.; 3/24/11, 9:39 PM
traditionalguy said...: Interesting Times indeed. Obama seems to want to see the outcome before he claims credit for what actually happens by accident. Some lawyers will have to sue him and get him under oath if we expect a straight answer.; 3/24/11, 9:40 PM
ErnieG said...: They say it's npt war. Two definitions of war come to mind. First is Carl von Clausewitz's "War is a mere continuation of politics by other means," and the more modern "killing people and breaking things." "Kinetic military action" would seem to fit either, or both.; 3/24/11, 9:40 PM
Quaestor said...: I agree Lem, the comparison to Carter has become odious. Carter was at least earnest in his fiscal stupidity and strategic ineptitude. Obama has become a vile parasite on body politic, blithely draining our national vitality at home and abroad. We'll come out of his tenure a poorer and weaker nation, but Obama himself and his wife and children will live in opulence for the rest of their days. Why the fuck should he care?; 3/24/11, 9:41 PM
Palladian said...: "...but he's not likely to succumb to pressure to deliver a long, explanatory address..."

I didn't realize that it took any pressure to get Obama to deliver a long, explanatory address. Asking him if he wants cream in his coffee probably triggers a long, explanatory address.; 3/24/11, 9:42 PM
Unknown said...: I think Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill once explained kinetic military action, "There is nothing so exhilarating as being shot at and missed".

Murphy's Laws of Combat, therefore, posit, "Any time they're shooting at you, its a war".

The Zero says there will be no ground involvement "absolutely". Therefore, we should all pray for the 2600 Marines bound for Libya.

And, contrary to Carol_Herman, we better hope the Army has some heavy brigades to spare since Jalo Oasis is about 150 miles from the coast and it's never been infantry country.; 3/24/11, 9:42 PM
Palladian said...: Actually, I think Obama's addresses aren't explanatory. Sort of the opposite. They're obfuscatory addresses.; 3/24/11, 9:43 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Obama seems to want to see the outcome before he claims credit for what actually happens by accident.

Its a "pass the bill to find out whats in it" all over again.

Except this time Obama is handing over the death panels to the French.

WV joksar - used to be called the sec of defense.; 3/24/11, 9:46 PM
Paul said...: Well good luck Nato! He put the 'sucker' sign on your back.

And Obama will let you handle this 'Kinetic military action' while he heads for the door (but sometimes he gets himself locked out so there is hope, if not change.); 3/24/11, 9:47 PM
Chennaul said...: Maybe the teleprompter is rejecting the term:

"time-limited, scope-limited military action."; 3/24/11, 9:47 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: Dropping bombs from the air and shooting missiles from the sea is war.

KMA is what Obama is telling all of us.; 3/24/11, 9:47 PM
Chennaul said...: Somehow that sounds like a "friendly" colonoscopy.; 3/24/11, 9:49 PM
Charlie Eklund said...: Kinetic, Frenetic Fighter's got a nice ring to it. Maybe Jefferson Airplane needs to reunite and do that as a 21st century version of Plastic Fantastic Lover; 3/24/11, 9:52 PM
Chennaul said...: I dunno do you want a bunch of French guys "steering" your multi-actor kinetic colonoscopy America?

Remember you're buying!; 3/24/11, 9:52 PM
Rose said...: you want kinetic, we've got kinetic
and I do mean kinetic.; 3/24/11, 9:54 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Gaddafi is a made guy, and Obama is not a made guy..

That's why Obama doesn't want his
fingerprints on this.

(I'm running out of ideas ;); 3/24/11, 9:59 PM
The Drill SGT said...: What says it all is that we have a National Security Advisor who is a white shoe Washington lawyer and Fannie mae VP, who never has been either a warrior, a diplomat or an academic in the area or international relations, or economics.

we have a Deputy NSA whose an f'ing speach writer, so that they can message properly...

There have been some bad NSA's before and a lot of good ones, but never any as unqualified as this crowd.

What ever happened to the Obama dream team of technocrats?

PSL If boys are being sent in harm's way, they deserve to have a President to have the balls to sit there in the oval office and explain to American People and the families, why they are going...; 3/24/11, 10:03 PM
DADvocate said...: Kinetic military action - a bullshit term if I've ever heard one. No real meaning at all. But, what do you expect from an administration built on bullshit?; 3/24/11, 10:04 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Whats the difference between Obama and Charlie Sheen?

With Charlie we know everything.. some say too much.

Obama is keeping even his own people in the dark.; 3/24/11, 10:09 PM
David said...: It helps to explain that Obama is surrounded by weasels.; 3/24/11, 10:13 PM
DADvocate said...: madawaskan - Obama doesn't want to waste his precious time, better used playing golf and vacationing, on trying to explain to the underlings the complex and abstract reasons for attacking Libya to people, like us, who can't begin to comprehend what he's saying. Plus, why should Emperor Barack bow to the peasants?; 3/24/11, 10:13 PM
Chennaul said...: DADvocate

It's making me literally sick.

You know for the US forces somebody, anybody should step in and take the space Obama is abdicating.; 3/24/11, 10:16 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Whats the difference between Obama and Tiger Woods?

Tiger still keeping his own scorecard.. even in defeat.

Obama doesn't even want to be near a scorecard.; 3/24/11, 10:17 PM
Synova said...: Look, it's jargon.

It means what they mean it to mean. It means that, as someone mentioned, bullets (or bombs) are involved. It separates fighting from all of the other extremely important military action involved that isn't an active fight.

It's not stupid because it's *wrong*. It's stupid because it's inappropriate to use jargon outside of a context where everyone is fluent, and it's stupid because the purpose of using the obfuscating jargon is to avoid being frank with the American people.; 3/24/11, 10:19 PM
Peter V. Bella said...: Leave the kinetic. Take the canoli.; 3/24/11, 10:22 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: It means what they mean it to mean.

Reminds me of Ford's impeachment definition.

If Obama is not impeached (and all likelihood says he wont) the bar for impeaching a president will be a subterranean one.; 3/24/11, 10:25 PM
Quaestor said...: Lem wrote: ...the bar for impeaching a president will be a subterranean one.

I'm not getting your metaphor. In my mind to "set the bar low," as in a hurdle, means to ease or relax the standard, conversely "setting the bar high" means the opposite. Thus I would understand "the bar for impeaching a president will be a stratospheric one" to mean a standard impossible to meet, while "the bar for impeaching a president will be a subterranean one" would mean no standard at all. Please clarify.

wv: amoront - the quality of having no morons as in "Nobody can say Obama has an amoront staff of advisers."; 3/24/11, 10:40 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Whatever happened to Colin Powell's Pottery Barn rule?

While trying to find out Wikipedia says..

In reality, Pottery Barn—the upscale home furnishing stores in the United States—does not have a "you break it, you bought it" policy[1], but rather writes off broken merchandise as a loss, as do most large American retailers.[2] Many U.S. states have statutes forbidding such policies (absent negligence or willful destruction).

Oy vey!; 3/24/11, 10:42 PM
traditionalguy said...: Another guess is that the NATO Commanding Officer is named Ken. Obama sure doesn't want his name to be said in the same sentence with the word "War".; 3/24/11, 10:45 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I believe you are correct.. I did mean to say setting the bar so high the standard would be nearly impossible to meet.. thereby creating a truly imperial presidency.

Thanks for your help.; 3/24/11, 10:49 PM
bagoh20 said...: I think war implies an intent to win - so no, this is no war.; 3/24/11, 10:57 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Another guess is..

Until Obama tells us his own guess Anything Goes ;); 3/24/11, 10:59 PM
J Allen said...: @ madAsHell: If I ever sat in on a brief that started with, “We’re going to conduct a kinetic operation…”

As the ‘boots on the ground guy’ here is where my thought process goes: since this guy isn’t going on the mission and probably doesn’t know what’s really going on, I need to make sure that a whole bunch of stuff gets done - rehearsals, PCIs/PCCs, extra bullets, water, batteries, fuel, MREs, sit guys down and make sure letters are done, DD 93s updated, radio frequencies checked, optics and night vision good, CAS (rotary and fast mover) and DUSTOFF verified, register arty and mortar fires, primary and alternate MEDEVAC zones designated, aid and litter teams prepped, 9 lines prepped, QRF and landowner coordination, map recon, IED report, weapons mix, vehicle stack, actions on contact (if we don’t make it to point B before objective and/or when we make it to point B), and then I’ll start thinking about if we get rerouted to a point C.

Watch “We Were Soldiers” and pay attention to the scene where they are getting their intel brief before going into the Ia Drang. That’s called getting an invite to a kinetic operation.; 3/24/11, 11:02 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Usually you want the Casus belli before the desert.

We all know that the Kinetic is really a belli.. he might not want to call it a belli but it's a belli.; 3/24/11, 11:07 PM
J Allen said...: @ madAsHell: If I ever sat in on a brief that started with, “We’re going to conduct a kinetic operation…”

As the ‘boots on the ground guy’ here is where my thought process goes: since this guy isn’t going on the mission and probably doesn’t know what’s really going on, I need to make sure that a whole bunch of stuff gets done - rehearsals, PCIs/PCCs, extra bullets, water, batteries, fuel, MREs, sit guys down and make sure letters are done, DD 93s updated, radio frequencies checked, optics and night vision good, CAS (rotary and fast mover) and DUSTOFF verified, register arty and mortar fires, primary and alternate MEDEVAC zones designated, aid and litter teams prepped, 9 lines prepped, QRF and landowner coordination, map recon, IED report, weapons mix, vehicle stack, actions on contact (if we don’t make it to point B before objective), and then I’ll start thinking about if we get rerouted to a point C.

Watch “We Were Soldiers” and pay attention to the scene where they are getting their intel brief before going into the Ia Drang. That’s called getting an invite to a kinetic operation.; 3/24/11, 11:14 PM
William said...: An organic revolution requires, from time to time, the composting of the kinetics of free men in order to flourish. Kinetics and organics. These are words to stir the hearts of patriots everywhere.; 3/24/11, 11:17 PM
DADvocate said...: It's making me literally sick.

You know for the US forces somebody, anybody should step in and take the space Obama is abdicating.

There is seriously something wrong with this guy. Not all mentally ill people are whacko crazy. Some are quite capable of passing for normal. Obama's detachment, aloofness and inability to genuinely emphasize are symptoms of deeper underlying problems. He's trying to fake his way through but too much is coming at him to handle effectively.; 3/24/11, 11:17 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: It's making me literally sick.

Obama doesn't seem to want his Kinetic blood rare.. But neither does he want it well done.

I give up.; 3/24/11, 11:42 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: "...but he's not likely to succumb to pressure to deliver a long, explanatory address..."

Obama doesn't want an address.. he's already wearing a dress.

(as in not the 'traditional' decider.. never mind ;); 3/25/11, 12:00 AM
Cedarford said...: yashu said...
Fantastic! It rivals "man caused disaster" among the great Orwellian redescriptions crafted for us by this administration. Aren't we lucky to have such skilled contortionists of language in power (as opposed to inarticulate dunces like Bush, who used embarrassingly simplistic words like "evil").

======================

Actually Bush used it 1st, telling us that the "kinetic phase of the war" with Iraq was over [with 139 US dead and 489 wounded], and then it was on to cleaning up a few dead enders and commencing the wonderful nation-building for the noble freedom-loving Deomocracy-hungry Iraqi people. [Where Bush lost another 4,308 US soldiers and took 32,200 additional casualties and 51,000 injuries, medical - thanks to the noble freedom-loving Iraqi people not privy to all the wonderful nation building going on that should have given us their fawning gratitude]

Basically, for the uninitiated, kinetic phase is what George Bush 1st used to substitute for what he dumbly thought was the "major combat phase" needing conclusion before "Mission Accomplished" could be announced.; 3/25/11, 12:06 AM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Ok I know what happened.

Obama was talking about the earthquake and they got his teleprompter crossed up..

Half sleep, like a politburo press conference, when people heard the word 'Kinetic' they thought he was talking about Libya.. he was talking about Japan.

Now.. that makes more sense if I say so myself.; 3/25/11, 12:15 AM
vbspurs said...: Chicken wrote:

It sounds cinematic.

I hear "kinetic" and see one of these doodahs.

Like a Rube Goldberg contraption, Obama's Administration overthinks every little thing. We wilt in the hothouse of his brain.

Cheers,
Victoria; 3/25/11, 12:20 AM
vbspurs said...: William wrote:

An organic revolution requires, from time to time, the composting of the kinetics of free men in order to flourish. Kinetics and organics. These are words to stir the hearts of patriots everywhere.

Christ Bloody Jesus. Can you imagine if this crowd today were to have written the Declaration of Independence or Bill of Rights.

"We declare these rights to be self-evident. That all those claiming personhood are equal, and to receive the same monies for doing the same job. That they are endowed by their Life Coaches with skills, among these are non-judgmentalism, tolerance and inclusivity."

Stick something about mandatory free health care and the odiousness of militarism, and bob's your uncle.

Cheers,
Victoria; 3/25/11, 12:33 AM
Anonymous said...: Obviously this is language designed to obfuscate and not communicate, and of course Orwell wrote the definitive essay on this. Now we see what the Presidency looks like in the age of post-this and post-that. We, in this era, has the word sophistry almost disappeared from public discourse? You'd think it would be used all the time with so much nonsense about in academia, politics and media.; 3/25/11, 12:44 AM
kent said...: What... not one of the leftard trolls-in-residence hereabouts is willing to step up and attempt even a cursory, Hail Mary defense of their blessed, beloved Jug-Eared Jesus on this one? Really?

Must have decided to scuttle while the scuttling's good, and Mr. 17% is taking on water quicker than Joy Behar during her period.

Heh.; 3/25/11, 2:58 AM
Unknown said...: Lem said...

Whatever happened to Colin Powell's Pottery Barn rule?

It's still there. There are those who will tell you Mr Soros wants a partition of Libya.

Before anyone scoffs, think Brazil.

vbspurs said...
William wrote:

An organic revolution requires, from time to time, the composting of the kinetics of free men in order to flourish. Kinetics and organics. These are words to stir the hearts of patriots everywhere.

Christ Bloody Jesus.

She really is English.

I think we just found Maggie Thatcher's long-lost sister.

PS Did Mrs Roberts ever spend any time alone with Mr Churchill?

PPS According to Leno, the real Pottery Barn rule is, "If you're in here, you're gay".

Given what some speculate about The Zero, it may doubly apply.; 3/25/11, 5:42 AM
AllenS said...: A kinetic war simply means that we are bombing the fuck out of a bunch of people and there isn't a damned thing they can do about it.; 3/25/11, 6:02 AM
Issob Morocco said...: It explains how the One loves to obfuscate when foisted upon his own petard.

Libya may be Obama's global Altgeld Gardens.

He vanished from that one when confronted with his Potemkin like endeavors.; 3/25/11, 6:34 AM
Unknown said...: Isn't the word "military" a bit harsh almost bellicose? Why not "kinetic police" activity or even "kinetic peace making?"; 3/25/11, 6:37 AM
rhhardin said...: It's a kinetic presidency.; 3/25/11, 6:56 AM
KCFleming said...: KMA is CYA.

It's bullshit.
Obfuscation.
Mendacious.
Incompetent.

Yes, he think's you're that stupid.; 3/25/11, 7:30 AM
Phil 314 said...: Entropy; 3/25/11, 7:40 AM
I'm Full of Soup said...: Althouse: and speaking of word clarity, how did this operation get the name Operation Odyssey Dawn?; 3/25/11, 7:52 AM
Paul said...: Hey hey Obama'na

How many babies have you killed today?

Get used to that chant cause if the 'kinetic' thing drags out expect it to come up (but only after a Republican wins the Presidency.; 3/25/11, 7:57 AM
FloridaSteve said...: You just KNOW that if it hadn't already been tarnished that they would LOVE to call it a "police action".. Oh well..; 3/25/11, 8:04 AM
AllenS said...: Here's some wonderful kinetic news:

Shortly after unrest broke out in eastern Libya in mid-February, reports emerged that an “Islamic Emirate” had been declared in the eastern Libyan town of Darnah and that, furthermore, the alleged head of that Emirate, Abdul-Hakim al-Hasadi, was a former detainee at the American prison camp in Guantánamo. The reports, which originated from Libyan government sources, were largely ignored or dismissed in the Western media.

Now, however, al-Hasadi has admitted in an interview with the Italian newspaper Il Sole 24 Ore that he fought against American forces in Afghanistan

This is who were are kinetically trying to help replace Qadaffi.; 3/25/11, 8:13 AM
KCFleming said...: "It is a common mistake in going to war to begin at the wrong end, to act first, and wait for disasters to discuss the matter."

Thucydides; 3/25/11, 8:18 AM
Brian said...: Hey, you have to admit, "No Kinetic Military Action for Oil!" is hard to fit on a t-shirt.; 3/25/11, 8:35 AM
Quaestor said...: AJ Lynch wrote: ...how did this operation get the name Operation Odyssey Dawn?

The land of the lotus-eaters is said to be near the present-day Tripoli.; 3/25/11, 9:17 AM
Joe said...: I really thought someone was making a joke when I read that phrase yesterday. This is pathetic.; 3/25/11, 9:42 AM
Joe said...: When civilian deaths come up, the White House should say it was "heaven transition facilitation."; 3/25/11, 9:45 AM
kent said...: Barack Obama in 2009: “I Promise I Will Never Rush the Decision to Send You in Harms Way” (Video)

BWAAAAAAAAAHHHH-ha-ha-ha-haaaaaa!!; 3/25/11, 10:15 AM
Carol_Herman said...: "Kinetic," is this french for Sarkozy getting really pissed off when "Q" said he was going to expose all those billions in transfer money? You know. When "Q" threatened Sarkozy. And told him "he should stay bought."

Next thing ya know, 112 Tomahawks get delivered to Tripoli.

"Kinetic." Could mean "hide the evidence, brother." You just never know.; 3/25/11, 11:56 AM
JAL said...: Like Synova @ 10:19 (very sensible, I might add).

They (the non-military dudes and chicklets) are using cool words (Playbook, page 793) they get to use for the first time.

The other military folks on the list have legitimized the use, and I got this from our military family member:

"kinetic operations" are lethal operations (guns, artillery, bombs, cruise missiles, etc) versus non-kinetic (non-lethal) operations (key leader engagement with a sheik/tribal elder, reconstruction project to rebuild schools/power plant, micro-grants, security forces assistance, etc).

Unfortunately what the elected and appointed leaders hanging around the White House are doing is not professional.

The professional military leadership have to make something work. The warriors have to do their jobs.; 3/25/11, 8:59 PM