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Thread: The "Wolf Closest to the Sled"

  1. #1
    Council Member SteveMetz's Avatar
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    Default The "Wolf Closest to the Sled"

    GEN Petraeus has referred to al Qaeda in Iraq as the "wolf closest to the sled."

    Now, from a strategic communications standpoint, I like the use of homesy metaphors, but have some issues with that. Simply put, it sounds too darned Russian.

    So I propose that we use our collective brain (and I'm assuming that there's only one that we rotate around among us) to come up with a better homesy metaphor for AQI

    I'm still working on it, but I'm thinking of things like:

    --A porcupine in the outhouse
    --The flea closest to the dog's butt
    --A Tennessean in Tiffany's
    --Satan's socks

    You get the drift. Chip in and do your part for national defense.
    Last edited by SteveMetz; 10-12-2007 at 10:22 AM.

  2. #2
    Council Member slapout9's Avatar
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    1-The one thats lower than a snakes belly in a wagon rut.

    2-They are like a sore tailed cat in a rocking chair factory.

    3-Like a skunk that smells his own smell first.
    Last edited by slapout9; 10-12-2007 at 10:42 AM. Reason: add stuff

  3. #3
    Council Member wm's Avatar
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    Default

    Here's a couple :

    The pit bull closest to Michael Vick

    The last honey barrel pulled out of the latrine

    The 'gator nearest the general's dog (Tom Odom, down at Polk do they still tell the story about how George the gator got put in Alligator Lake.)

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    Council Member Tom Odom's Avatar
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    Although Petraeus admitted that local militias are a problem and could potentially be a long-term issue, he said Al Qaeda remains "the wolf closest to the sled ... the enemy bent on causing the most sectarian violence, inflicting the most horrific casualties, and damaging the infrastructure in the most difficult way." He added that US forces were making progress, but they must continue to apply pressure on the terrorist group. "We have our teeth in them and we've got to keep them down," he said.
    He really has teeth issues....


    How about, "Hannibal Lector without a mask?"

    Or going back further, "A Great white with only one barrel in him?"

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    Council Member marct's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Odom View Post
    How about, "Hannibal Lector without a mask?"
    I like that one, but it may be a touch too modern. How about "the rabid fox in Iraq's henhouse"?
    Sic Bisquitus Disintegrat...
    Marc W.D. Tyrrell, Ph.D.
    Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies,
    Senior Research Fellow,
    The Canadian Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies, NPSIA
    Carleton University
    http://marctyrrell.com/

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    Moderator Steve Blair's Avatar
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    The wolf closest to the herd (or flock).

    Although I do have a fondness for more off-color expressions that don't really work for IO but might make the point better....
    "On the plains and mountains of the American West, the United States Army had once learned everything there was to learn about hit-and-run tactics and guerrilla warfare."
    T.R. Fehrenbach This Kind of War

  7. #7
    i pwnd ur ooda loop selil's Avatar
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    The sandle soul of a beggar?

    The left handed sheik of society?
    Sam Liles
    Selil Blog
    Don't forget to duck Secret Squirrel
    The scholarship of teaching and learning results in equal hatred from latte leftists and cappuccino conservatives.
    All opinions are mine and may or may not reflect those of my employer depending on the chance it might affect funding, politics, or the setting of the sun. As such these are my opinions you can get your own.

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    Council Member Tom Odom's Avatar
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    I got it......

  9. #9
    Council Member Tom Odom's Avatar
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    wait for it......

  10. #10
    Council Member Tom Odom's Avatar
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    Mother-in-law

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    Frankly, "the IED nearest the Humvee" seems most apt...

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    - the ####ter we couldn't get ignited

  13. #13
    Council Member SteveMetz's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by goesh View Post
    - the ####ter we couldn't get ignited
    Except when there are burrito grande MREs in the box.

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    Council Member Stan's Avatar
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    Default Concur

    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Odom View Post
    Mother-in-law
    I second that one

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    Council Member Beelzebubalicious's Avatar
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    Default Who are the dogs?

    I'm not sure I really understand this saying. My assumption is that Gen. Petraeus is the sled driver, Iraq is the sled, and AQI the closest wolf to the sled. If this is right, who are the dogs? One can only assume it's the US military forces...I think Petraeus owes us an explanation....

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    Council Member Rob Thornton's Avatar
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    I think Iraq is supposed to be the sled, the dogs I'm not sure were part of the analogy, but if you wanted to extend it - you might consider it the forces driving it along - which is a pretty big list. As for better analogies, each to his own I reckon.

    Best Rob

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    Council Member Mark O'Neill's Avatar
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    After what I have been seeing lately I kinda favour:

    "AQI - even more annoying than Anthropologists"

  18. #18
    Council Member Tom Odom's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mark O'Neill View Post
    After what I have been seeing lately I kinda favour:

    "AQI - even more annoying than Anthropologists"
    Oh man....

    There is that Aussie culture peeking out

    Mark,

    I cannot drink my coffee when you make me snort it

    Tom

  19. #19
    Council Member Mark O'Neill's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Odom View Post
    Oh man....

    There is that Aussie culture peeking out

    Mark,

    I cannot drink my coffee when you make me snort it

    Tom
    Don't you hate it when it drips through your nose..... not that I know anything about that...

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