Another Military Disaster

In a show of solidarity to our fighting men and women, I was trying to hold back judgement, but this latest atrocity is just too much to bear. It is time to call for the immediate sacking of whichever Pentagon or Bush Administration official is in charge of code-naming our various operations and wars of choice. As the Marines assualt Fallujah, they are doing so under the name "Operation Phantom Fury." They have been planning this assualt since last July, so it's difficult to believe that no thought went into this (or am I being naive, since there doesn't seem to have been any planning beyond flowers, candy and instant Jeffersonian democracy?).

Were the individual or individuals in charge aware that the definition of "phantom," in addition to a ghost, also means "ficticious" or "nonexistent"? For example: The phantom weapons of mass destruction... Is the irony of Phantom Fury intentional? Doubtful, if one may judge by the earnest stupidity found in the dubbings of other Bush II-era operations: Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Infinite Justice, etc (seriously, how asinine).

No matter where you come down on the spectrum from hawk to dove, you have to admit that we've had some pretty cool names for miliatry operations down through history. Like "Operation Overlord", that's a pretty cool name. Or what about "Rolling Thunder"? Or "Desert Storm"? Hell, even "Operation Marketgarden," which should suck as a name (not to mention an operation), still manages to trip merrily off the tongue.

With "Operation Cleaning House" now underway in the Bush cabinet, it's time for the Secretary in Charge of Naming Stuff to get the boot. Isn't that a better way to support the troops?