Speaking terms

The first ripple of war-speak was confusing enough, a throwback to the anxious days of trying to absorb vocabulary lists in the fourth grade -- there was “shock and awe,” “embedded” journalists and other jargon. Now that the Iraq war is well underway, Americans are being introduced, or reintroduced, to a wave of combat slang and catch phrases, sometimes with unintentionally comic -- or intentionally sobering -- effect. To help follow the coverage, here are some examples of the fast-changing lexicon being used to define, and sometimes put a political spin on, these uncertain times:

Catastrophic success: Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld used the term to describe the goal of a quick victory.

CentCom: U.S. Central Command’s base in Qatar.

Devil docs: U.S. Navy front-line doctors who sometimes work on enemy casualties.

FARRP: Forward Air Refueling and Rearming Point, designed so troops can move deeper into battle and fall back to refuel or rearm as needed.

Kinetics: Military synonym for bombs.

MOPP: Mission Oriented Protective Posture, gear used by U.S. troops to guard against chemical or biological attacks.

No more “doves” and “hawks”: National Public Radio’s ombudsman reports that antiwar groups are lobbying to be called “pro-peace,” while those who support the war are pushing for a “pro-troops” label.

Psy-ops: Shorthand for the psychological operations used in warfare, such as leaflets urging Iraqi soldiers to surrender.

Quagmire: Used literally to describe the muddy conditions faced by soldiers after sandstorms and rain on the way to Baghdad. Also, recently, news commentators and others have used the term figuratively to describe the possibility that the war will go on longer, and cause more casualties and deaths, than anticipated, perhaps shading public perception.

Red line: The point at which Iraqi forces presumably would use chemical weapons against coalition forces on their approach to Baghdad.

Speed bumps: Obstacles, such as Iraqi troops or burning oil fields, that could slow, but not stop, U.S. ground forces.

-- Renee Tawa