Re: Words mean things

[<Jhk789@aol.com>]

In a message dated 7/11/2001 8:56:21 AM Pacific Daylight Time, 
gangster@oio.net writes:


> FIRED from positions north of the 38th 
> parallel to soften up South Korean positions south of the 38th parallel, 
> then ATTACKED.


Ed,

It sounds much better than "invaded"
although I cannot agree on its accuracy.

In any case, the term "invaded" should be reserved for
situations in which one country enters & occupies
another country. A good example would be
Germany invading Poland or Japan invading China.
(Even though Japan tried to avoid that term by saying
it "advanced" into China)

But that term is awkward in the case of Korea
since both South & North Koreans consider Korea
as one country and one people. How can you invade
your own country? I guess that's why we never say
South invaded North( or North invaded South) in the American civil war.

I think the term "invasion" in the Korean War context
was promoted by Truman as a propaganda war to
justify US intervention in the War. 

Just a reminder that we need to be careful with the words
we use.

John