The operation to capture and/or kill Osama bin Laden was given the name "Operati

1. 84

   Mr. Happyposted 7 years ago

   The operation to capture and/or kill Osama bin Laden was given the name "Operation Geronimo Strike".
   
   Geronimo was a famous Native American leader from the Apache tribe which the United States military already hunted-down in the late 1800's. I find the name given to the mission to kill Osama bin Laden quite an insult. An insult on top of an insult that is.

   replyreport
2. 84

   Mr. Happyposted 7 years ago

   I am honestly upset over this. So, upset that I forgot the question. I am just wondering what other people think about this. How thoughtless and senseless ...

   replyreport
3. 61

   Jezebel28posted 7 years ago

   Manifest destiny now on a global stage it seems.  Kind of ironic but almost blatant in your face truth of America's hegemon.  Ever read The Grand Chessboard by Zbigniew Brzezinski...

   replyreport
4. 77

   Thesourceposted 7 years ago

   I hope the name Geronimo was used to code name the operation rather than Osama Bin Ladin.
   
   I have a great respect for Geronimo and I will be sad to know if that name is used as a code name for Osama. I hope this is not the case.

   replyreport
5. 74

   JON EWALLposted 7 years ago

   If OBL was shot in the back of the head, it was an assassination.
   Maybe similar to the picture in Vietnam of a captured civilian shot in the head by an officer of the Vietnamese army.
   A despicable act no matter how you look at it.
   President Barak '' I '' Obama says '' we are different than our enemies'', really.

   replyreport
6. 74

   onegoodwomanposted 7 years ago

   YOU find it insulting, or you AGREE with those native Indians who find it so?
   
   
   Had they not voiced such a concern, would YOU have stepped forward?
   
   Would you?
   
   
   I would not have, but once they stepped forward, I must admit, they have a legit concern.
   
   Please, be truthful, in what you find offensive and what you support............
   
   
   Without the voice of those Indians who spoke out, I would Never have questioned it.   Now that it has been questioned and noted..........go on, and get past it......another lesson learned.

   replyreport
7. 60

   sam3mposted 7 years ago

   i would think that most people are going to say that you are being overly sensitive.  however, i would also think that none of those people are native americans.  what would be the reaction if it was called operation lincoln strike?  i am sure there would be objections in that case.

   replyreport
8. 72

   nifty@50posted 7 years ago

   I think the Native American Leaders are really over reaching on this one! The US military has great respect for the tactics employed by the Apaches, that is why their attack helicopters are called "Apache" attack helicopters. In the same vain, paratroopers yelled "Geronimo" when they leaped into battle in World War II. It is reverence for the man plain & simple! The term "Operation Geronimo Strike" was used because the tactics employed were Apache like. The Native American leaders should go back to attacking the Cleveland Indians for that Idiotic looking mascot or the the Washington "Redskins", for using that offensive team name! Those things, I find offensive, but not this!

   replyreport
9. 71

   The Ghostwriterposted 7 years ago

   I don't think any 'operation X' would be deemed appropriate by everybody; some would object to 'Operation Neutral'.
   
   The nature of the operation was sensitive and I don't think the people who create the names really consider the politics.
   
   I often wonder why devastating hurricanes have warm soft names but apparently there is a list of names in alphabetical order, alternating male and female - perhaps it is the case with military operations?

   replyreport
10. 96

    Wesman Todd Shawposted 7 years ago

    Basically, you are either with "US," or you are with the terrorists.  At least someone told me that once on tv, so you know it was true, right?
    
    Hey, at least they didn't kill all the Buffalo in Pakistan, right?

    replyreport
11. 0

    writeronlineposted 7 years ago

    Absolutely insulting to the Native American people. Especially since it was done 'by mistake'. ie, no thought whatsoever was given to the offence it would cause. Now the damage is done, and cant be undone.
    
    But it's no surprise to me. It's part of an ongoing issue that upsets me so much I wrote a hub about it; political leaders so ignorant of the fact that words are the most powerful weapons they have, that they persist in shooting from the lip, and in times like these, unnecessarily costing the lives of thousands.  There's a consistent theme illustrating this, (in my opinion; but supported entirely by facts, in the hub) running from Geronimo and Manifest Destiny, through the crass and inflammatory utterances of George W Bush on the Iraq invasion, and the War on Terror, to the recent Geronimo/bin Laden mission naming fiasco.
    
    In the wrong hands, words become weapons of mass deception. And, because deception is part of the political arsenal, I don't hold any hope that things will change.

    replyreport