lily pad

The proposed new U.S. military base for Darwin was described by one military commentator as a lily pad. This seemed an inappropriate image for an establishment bristling with military hardware. And a lily pad should be surrounded by water. It was wrong, all wrong.

 I discover that the imagery has been handed to us from the US where they developed a strategy for developing small bases on islands scattered throughout the Pacific. Lots of lily pads in the big pond. It is another example of American military euphemism, the kind of sugarcoated jargon that gave us collateral damage (the killing of civilians) and area denial munitions (landmines). The main point of the lily pads is that they are small by comparison to established bases that become American outposts providing all the comforts of home and an unwavering American culture surrounded by hostile locals. So now Darwin is to have a lily pad, that is, a small-scale military base. Presumably this is a step up from the current situation where American troops pop in and out of Darwin on a regular basis. Whether it is our lily pad or America’s lily pad is another question.

 I am sad to see the image of the lily pad being co-opted for use in military doublespeak. The aggro lily pad,