“So shock and awe.” “Shock yes awe, not quite.” “But…but…” “Don’t splutter – history teaches us that shock and awe doesn’t go hand in hand when a politician uses the phrase; remember, George Bush the second used it during the US war on Iraq war in 2003.”
“For your correction the phrase was actually reportedly used by Ullman and Wade in a Pentagon briefing in 1996, it only came into prominence when it was used by President Bush….”
“Right and need I add in 2003 there was shock and awe – shock that the world’s sole superpower would so openly engage in regime change through the exercise of its military might and awe at the fact that the reason for war touted by the Americans and allies, of Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction, proved false and…”
“Hmmm but President Trump’s statement on developing Gaza….”
“To transform it into Middle East Riviera….”
“Yes, meaning it will be developed….”
“One question: would the price of the flats and houses built in Gaza be within the reach of the average Palestinian from Gaza?”
“You are so very, very, silly. President Trump is not likely to set up Daanish schools or give subsidized loans or is it interest free loans to the poor to build houses that Notification Maryam Nawaz is proposing and….”
“OK I grant you this, our politicians are also not into awe but unlike President Trump’s directives and statements, are they even into shock you reckon?”
“The new and improved Islamabad High Court seniority list….”
“No shock and no awe.”
“What about all PML-N leadership having their convictions reversed and the Man Who Must Remain Nameless and Faceless inside jail….”
“No shock or awe.”
“What about the passage of the twenty-sixth amendment in spite of the many, many parties that were needed to be on board….”
“What’s so shocking about that! Didn’t the man Who Must Remain Nameless and Faceless publicly acknowledge that he needed help to even pass the budget.”
“I give up.Can you give me an example of shock and awe?”
“The make-up of the judicial commission of Pakistan and….”
“Shock and awe?”
“Shock was there to start with but awe at the ease with which it is being implemented.”
“There, I agree with you.”
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
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