Friendly Fire

The oxymoron of the week is
“friendly fire”! In the book of
life’s lessons learned the hard
way – assuming one survives,
for clarity any “fire” received
is definitionally unfriendly.

It is an extreme euphemism
rarely exceeded but for news
release rhetoric; “unfortunate”
incidents are neatly rephrased
as good news disguised but
languishing in retrospect.

It was a mistake, we sincerely
apologise for casualties. It does
not change our tactics or the
way we relate to the enemy; we
demonstrate our faith in deeds
not bleeding-heart speeches.

I didn’t feel safe in the room
when an Aide delivered that
round of “friendly fire”, nor on
an ill-defined front line were
the geographically illiterate
fly bomb-laden warplanes.
© 4 July 2008, I. D. Carswell