Framing Afghanistan as a Snare, Trap, or Trick
by Susan C. Strong, The Metaphor Project
http://www.metaphorproject.org
Re Rob Kall's piece today on American metaphors used to sell the Afghanistan War to our people, he has definitely covered all of the ways that work (Afghanistan as Sports Event, Sexual Fantasy and Detour From the Hero's Journey: http://bit.ly/... Also, it's true, as he says, that in the (sports) hero's journey, a triumphant return home requires outwitting or avoiding all efforts to stop his or her success. But some ways this counterargument can be framed using common American story motifs are these:
Afghanistan is a trap Al Qaeda and Bin Laden set for us, a snare, a trick designed to bleed us dry, to weaken us, to wear us and our economy down, and so defeat us, while ensuring we enrage Muslims worldwide. Think about it--why did Bin Laden choose a country no one has ever conquered for his training operations? (This is also true for the area of Pakistan Al Qaeda is in now.) The only way we can win this one is "not to fall any further into Bin Laden's trap"--"to outwit him by avoiding a long drawn out struggle in Afghanistan." "Reducing our involvement there is the only way to get clear of the trap." Let's hope President Obama uses some of these other American metaphors to tell us on Tuesday that we are going to scale down and escape Bin Laden's Afghan trap!