Friday, September 15, 2006

Word of the day

Does anyone think that George W. Bush knew what a "berm" was before he apparently scooped his own military and announced that the new security plan for Baghdad involves building one around the city?

And so they've got a plan now, they've adapted. The enemy moves; we'll help the Iraqis move. So they're building a berm around the city to make it harder for people to come in with explosive devices, for example. They're working different neighborhoods inside of Baghdad to collect guns and bring people to detention. They've got a "clear, build and hold" strategy.

4 results for: berm
–noun 1. Also, berme. Fortification. a horizontal surface between the exterior slope of a rampart and the moat.
2. Also called bench. any level strip of ground at the summit or sides, or along the base, of a slope.
3. Also called backshore, beach berm. a nearly flat back portion of a beach, formed of material deposited by the action of the waves.
4. Chiefly Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. the bank of a canal or the shoulder of a road.
5. Chiefly Alaska. a mound of snow or dirt, as formed when clearing land.
6. a bank of earth placed against an exterior wall or walls of a house or other building as protection against extremes of temperature.
–verb (used with object) 7. to cover or protect with a berm: The side walls were bermed to a height of three feet.


UPDATE: Bush may not have scooped his military, but exaggerated what is planned. Or maybe the military thinks that making it sound like the city is under siege is too embarrassing.

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