"A recent surge in violence..." - Update #2

[EarlG]

A week or so ago I noticed that the phrase "recent surge in violence" has cropped up an awful lot in news reports coming out of Iraq over the past few years, which got me wondering how often these "recent surges" occur. Anyway, I thought it might not be a bad idea to keep tabs on the phrase, so here's the latest update...

March 6, 2006: The training at the desert village is especially important for the Marines of the First Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division. The battalion, made up mostly of Marine reservists, is leaving soon for Iraq, where sectarian tensions have brought a recent surge in violence -- and growing concerns about civil war.

March 10, 2006: Iraqi forces, not American troops, would deal with a civil war if one erupts in Iraq and U.S. troop cuts remained possible despite a recent surge in violence, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Thursday.

March 11, 2006: Moving to the recent surge in violence that has swept Iraq, Ritter said he wasn’t surprised as the only thing holding the three infighting ethnic and religious groups (Kurds, Shia, and Sunnis) together since the end of the Ottoman Empire after World War I was Saddam Hussein's Ba’athist Party.

March 13, 2006: Despite the recent surge in violence in Iraq, Mr. Reid said he believed that civil war was "neither imminent nor inevitable." He said Iraqi security forces now numbered around 235,000, with 5,000 more volunteering to join every month.

The original "recent surge in violence" post:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/EarlG/13

[gristy]

1. "sectarian violence" is cropping up with increasing frequency

707 hits for "surge in sectarian violence" http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&q=%22surge+in+sectarian+violence%22&btnG=Search+News
Just 4 hits for "recent surge in sectarian violence" http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8&q=%22recent+surge+in+sectarian+violence%22&btnG=Search+News


sec·tar·i·an Pronunciation Key (sk-târ-n) adj.
1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a sect.
2. Adhering or confined to the dogmatic limits of a sect or denomination; partisan.
3. Narrow-minded; parochial.




In the 24 years prior to 1 year ago (1981-March 2005), the term "sectarian violence" appeared in the NY Times all of 41 times. In the past year, it has appeared 79 times, with half of those in the past month.

So, what is this all about? Either violence around the world in years/decades past was not sectarian in nature, OR we have a new word being applied to an old problem. Why is this happening? Is it important? I don't know...

[Jara sang]

2. That phrase dehumanizes violence.

It's always described in "waves". "Surges" are things that occur during storms. It takes the human element out of the violence which allows the public to see the perpetrators of the violence in "less than human" terms. It also elevates the violence to a "force of nature" something that is unstoppable.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

4. That's their intention though, isn't it

Take out the human element and you remove any risk of offense on your block of voters.

They learned from their mistakes in the past and they are much better at manipulating the masses today.

[Neil Lisst]

3. it's a Tsunami of violence

and it's killing in waves