July 28, 2008
OF COURSE, WE'RE SAFE, WE'RE IN WAZIRISTAN!:
Al-Qaeda chemical expert 'killed' (BBC, 7/28/08)
Reports from Pakistan say a leading al-Qaeda chemical weapons expert, Midhat Mursi al-Sayid Umar, has been killed in a missile strike.Posted by Orrin Judd at July 28, 2008 12:49 PMTaleban officials in the tribal area of South Waziristan confirmed to the BBC that he was killed in a missile strike that left at least six people dead.
'Killed' in BBC scare quotes. Does that mean he's pinin' for the fjords?
Posted by: Gideon7 at July 28, 2008 1:41 PMI thought it might've been a quotation from a press release or spokesman, but there's no longer quotation given (e.g. "He has been killed.").
The article also mentions that Midhat was reported killed before, only to re-emerge. He was just "stunned," so-to-speak. But if that's the point they were trying to make, they should have said "reported killed" without the quotation marks.
Posted by: Just John at July 28, 2008 4:04 PMDo they want this guy to still be alive? For what?
On a different tack, how would the BBC have reported events in 33 AD? Nearly dead, perhaps dead, once-dead, or just 'crucified'?
Posted by: ratbert at July 28, 2008 4:56 PMLike the "Norwegian Blue just pining for the fjords" I guess.
Posted by: narciso at July 28, 2008 9:54 PMKipling's World. The 'Screw-Guns' strike again.
"...You may hide in the caves, they'll be only your graves,
but you can't get away from the guns!"
Why is the word killed in sneer quotes? Is there some sort of doubt? Or is he in some sort of "killed"-like state that requires greater explanation? Or did the headline writer want to use some other word that describes this freedom-fighter's demise in an emotionally loaded way, but the writer didn't have the guts to use it?
Posted by: Raoul Ortega at July 28, 2008 1:34 PM