Answer to the Quick Quiz of Yesterday; Why Obama’s Use of “A Shot Across the Bow” was Incorrect

To make sense of this post, you need to first read the previous one, which asks why was President Obama wrong in his use of the idiom “a shot across the bow” with reference to his intended action against Syria.

“A shot across the bow” is meant to serve as a warning--it is an action or gesture that is intended to make the other side desist from a course of action but is not something that inflicts harm.  Literally, it is when the cannonball sails over the enemy ship and falls into the water, as per design, and does not actually hit the vessel. Well, in the case of Syria, the intended U.S. action will not be a mere warning but an attack that will take out several of that nation’s military assets.

© Copyright 2013  V. J. Singal