generic letter to the editors, brush off and re-send every time the us invades another country

Dear Editors:

Re: Operation “Fill in the Blank”

I would like to suggest that people (and the press in particular) refrain from using whatever name the Pentagon comes up with for the impending military strikes (against Afghanistan and/or who knows where). I think that the latest incarnation is “Enduring Freedom” after “Infinite Justice” and “Just Eagle” (or something like that) were scrapped. During the US war with Iraq the military honed the art of naming modern wars and carefully managing the press so that we only see (and as much as possible think) only what the military wants. These operation names are the first propaganda strike and serve to curtail critical reporting and thought about what we as a nation are doing. As we have no real information about what the actions will entail (and Donald Rumsfeld made it clear on Tuesday that we will be given a very restricted diet of military propaganda) I would suggest that we each devise our own names for the “Operation”. Right now I favor “Infinite Jingoism”, “Enduring Breast-beating” or “Violent Vengeance”. The US has a long history of engaging in military actions that wreak a terrible toll on mostly poor civilians of other nations. I would hope that all of us have learned from September 11th that civilian deaths are an abomination and should never be written off as “collateral damage” in the quest for a greater purpose.

Sincerely,Nic