Signifier v. Signified

So the AP bureau in Baghdad must have a few critical theory books laying around. Two stories out of the bureau Tuesday sought to explore the relationship between language, the bloody mess in Iraq, and Americans.

Mar 15, 2:41 PM (ET)
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) - Words like "victory" and "mission accomplished" aren't heard much anymore as the United States enters its fourth year of war in Iraq.

The slogans now are "political process" and handing over "battle space" to Iraq's new army so that the Iraqis themselves can carry the fight to the insurgents and build their promised democracy.

All those plans are now under review in light of another ominous phrase - "civil war" - that has crept into the debate since the wave of sectarian violence set off by a Feb. 22 bombing at a Shiite Muslim mosque in Samarra.

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This is a mighty story, and a good primer on what’s happened until this point. He is accurate in saying that the Samarra mosque bombing did cause the resurgence of the term “civil war,” at least in AP reports, but it would take some imaginative thinking to believe that the bombing was a step closer to civil war. It had been going on for a long time.