The Machinery of Night

Posted 9:55 PM by Angie Schultz

Operation Innuendo

Ah, Reuters: One man's news service is another man's embarrassing intestinal condition.

Reuters seizes a large lead in the media limbo contest (how low can they go?) with this item, titled "U.S.'s 'Iron Hammer' Code Name 1st Used by Nazis":

The U.S. military's code name for a crackdown on resistance in Iraq was also used by the Nazis for an aborted operation to damage the Soviet power grid during World War II.

See, sixty years ago, the Nazis thought it might be a good idea to cripple Soviet power production, and gave the plan the name "Eisenhammer". But, what with one thing and another, it was never carried out.

The article goes on to say that "Iron Hammer" is being performed by the 1st Armored Division, whose nickname is "Old Ironsides", hence the name. It also mentions the change of Operation Infinite Justice to Operation Enduring Freedom.

That's it.

What, you were waiting for something else? Like, maybe an explanation of why this is relevant or important, or even interesting? Well, you're not getting it. We used the words "U.S. military" and 'Nazi' in the same sentence and are going to get away with it. That's all we wanted. Ha ha ha.

There doesn't seem to be any other reason for this news article, given that 1) Eisenhammer was a completely ordinary military objective, which 2) was very different from the goals of "Iron Hammer", and 3) was never carried out.

This just in: "Reuters is pronounced 'roiters', in the German fashion, because its founder was, like many Nazis, a German. The Nazis were known for their sophisticated use of propaganda."

Via the suspiciously Teutonic-sounding Rantburg.