The Common Ills: Is it their reward or their punishment?

Patrick Wintour (Guardian) reports on a NATO 'sideline' meeting US Secretary of State John Kerry presided over -- with ten nations -- while discussing how to bring more violence to Iraq:

The US has announced it is forming a "core coalition" to battle Islamic State in Iraq, and has given the new bloc two weeks to finalise plans to help the Baghdad authorities and the Kurds in the north intensify the fight against the militants.
Speaking at the Nato summit in Wales, the US secretary of state, John Kerry, said on Friday that the 10-nation coalition would concentrate on shoring up those in Iraq who were fighting against Isis, but said intervention would not extend to western powers sending in troops.

"Core coalition" is obviously the new phrase. You'll find it all over this morning, including in this First Post article.

It's a stupid phrase -- not unlike 'coalition of the willing' -- and will be mocked and made fun of, as it should be.

But thing is, they take their idiotic phrases very seriously.

Remember Bully Boy Bush in 2002 declaring 'axis of evil'?

Remember what followed?

Not since Joan Baez and Judy Collins went to war over which one of them Bob Dylan wrote a certain song about have egos clashed so publicly.

It came to the point that David Frum's wife was nearly publicly sobbing, "My husband came up with that phrase!"

News to the people who remember it from WWII. But even when Frum wrote his book, long after you'd think he'd get over it, he was still intent on owning the phrase.

What should be an embarrassment becomes their claim to fame.

So was it a reward or was it punishment to the one tasked with developing the phrase.

IANS and EFE reports Iraqi planes bombed Mosul "killing five civilians and injuring eight others."

This is what the White House is supporting.

The Iraqi air force is poorly trained.

The deaths could have been a mistake.

Many more have happened.

But that's no concern to the White House apparently.

There will be no statement of sorrow or regret over those deaths.

No acknowledgment.

Maybe Senator Dianne Feinstein will declare the deaths a loss she can live with.

Of course, the dead are no longer living.

Feinstein will scream for bombs to fall and pretend that's addressing the issue.

The reasons for what took place will be ignored and all the killing of innocents will do is further inflame the situation.

Well, that and let Dianne sleep easy at night. Some people count sheep, she counts charred corpses.

Maybe her 'gentle' sleep will let her think up a catch phrase for the latest White House mission to kill?

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