"Technical" truth

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Maybe you saw this article Officials Confirm Dropping Firebombs on Iraqi Troops (Crawley, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8/5/03). The troops thought these bombs were Napalm. Most likely those who they were dropped on, or saw them dropped, thought they were Napalm. But ... such a "leap of deduction" is apparently inaccurate.

Check out the following excerpts from the article:

"We napalmed both those (bridge) approaches," said Col. James Alles in a recent interview."

"During the war, Pentagon spokesmen disputed reports that napalm was being used, saying the Pentagon's stockpile had been destroyed two years ago"

"Apparently the spokesmen were drawing a distinction between the terms "firebomb" and "napalm." If reporters had asked about firebombs, officials said yesterday they would have confirmed their use."

So we now have the President being "technically" truthful AND the DoD being "technically" truthful. I guess we just have to ask the right questions, or maybe the same questions using a variety of different terms and descriptors.

I wonder if "technical truth" stands up in court.

Posted by rowan at August 6, 2003 12:20 PM | Printable Version | [eMail this article!] |