Thursday, February 18, 2010

If you're interested in any IRAQI FREEDOM, get it by 01SEP2010 (UPDATED)

According to a memo from the SECDEF to GEN Petraeus, that's when Operation IRAQI FREEDOM will cease to be known by that name. Get ready for Operation NEW DAWN. The switch is timed to coincide with the changing mission for U.S. forces in Iraq, and "presents opportunities to synchronize strategic communications initiatives, reinforce our commitment to honor the Security Agreement, and recognize our evolving relationship with the Government of Iraq."

Interestingly, publishers and headline writers (not to mention the Obama Administration) have been using the hell out of the expression "new dawn" since at least 2004, and the GoI's Arabic name for what we called Operation PHANTOM FURY (the Fallujah offensive) was al-Fajr: "the dawn."

UPDATE: Here's the text of the memo, via Mike Allen via Jake Tapper of ABC. For what it's worth, Tapper was reporting this as an "exclusive" at 6:37 p.m. yesterday. You heard it here first!
Posted by Gulliver at 4:07 PM
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7 comments:

  1. SchmedlapFebruary 19, 2010 at 10:41 AM

    If it were up to me, it would have a different name. I would ask the GoI, "what's that? You want us to leave? Okay, please specify an exact time." And then I would name it Operation If God Wills It. That's the response that I got from every IA Officer whenever I tried to nail down an exact time.

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  2. GulliverFebruary 19, 2010 at 10:56 AM

    Operation BUKRA, INSHALLAH. I like it.

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  3. JasonFebruary 19, 2010 at 10:58 AM

    God save us from defense officials and their attempts to change the dialogue by changing the title of the project but not its direction...

    Thanks, nice catch.

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  4. LilFebruary 19, 2010 at 11:13 AM

    I think it should be Operation Bukra (fil) Mish Mish.

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  5. GulliverFebruary 19, 2010 at 11:21 AM

    God save us from defense officials and their attempts to change the dialogue by changing the title of the project but not its direction...

    Not gonna lie: I may be in the minority, but I don't see anything particularly sinister about this. I mean "OIF" is sort of OBE, isn't it? Isn't Iraq free?

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  6. TintinFebruary 19, 2010 at 5:28 PM

    Yeah but "New Dawn" is pretty gay-sounding compared to OIF, which we're at least used to.

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  7. AnonymousFebruary 19, 2010 at 8:28 PM

    VA also puts "Operation Iraqi Freedom" on the gravestones of anyone who wants them.

    I guess "Operation New Dawn" will be something of a bitter irony, so they'll probably stick with the old tomb markers.

    SNLII

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