sandpit n.— «The men working for the security companies, while reluctant to talk in public, have their own online chat-rooms, where they exchange views on what they refer to as “the sandpit”—Iraq.» —“Iraq’s hired hands...
splurge n.— «The truth is that “the splurge,” as the soldiers call it, is not going well.…Spent more than two years in Iraq and most likely will have to do 15 more months unless it goes back to 12-month rotations after...
post-kinetic environment n.— «Crocker’s performance was memorable for another show-stopping war euphemism, when he referred to bombed-out Iraqi towns as “post-kinetic environments.”» —“The Iraq War’s Go-To...
blood and treasure n.— «As a discussion of the Iraq War grows longer (and more heated), it becomes more and more likely that someone will invoke the phrase “blood and treasure.” This olde-tyme expression, popular with Jefferson and Monroe...
sailboat fuel n.— «In perhaps the ultimate example of military capitalism, KBR reportedly ran convoys of empty trucks back and forth across the insurgent-laden desert, pointlessly risking the lives of soldiers and drivers so the company...
wicked problem n.— «Some observers have taken a page from urban planning theory to describe Iraq as a “wicked problem”—a term coined to describe complex and divisive issues, such as building a new highway through a city or...