[Newspoetry] smoke them out of their caves

[Joe Futrelle]

 From today's NYT:
"Smoke them out of their caves": Mr. Bush has with great relish promised to 
smoke the Taliban and Al Qaeda out of their hiding places. In the early 
days of the war, his reference to caves was thought by some to be 
metaphorical. But the bombing of Tora Bora proved that the president was 
speaking more literally than most people may have realized.

Then on Dec. 19, appearing on the South Lawn of the White House with Gov. 
Mike Foster of Louisiana, Mr. Bush suddenly used the phrase in connection 
with rabbits, leaving the press corps perplexed.

"I know the governor likes to hunt rabbits down in Louisiana," the 
president said. "Sometimes those rabbits think they can hide from the 
governor. But, eventually, he smokes them out and gets them. And that's 
exactly what is happening to Mr. bin Laden, and all the murderers that he's 
trying to hide in Afghanistan."

Mr. Foster later explained that Mr. Bush was referring to a rabbit hunting 
trip he took with Mr. Bush on the Louisiana coast during the 2000 
presidential campaign. "You let beagles loose, and they howl and go after 
the rabbits and chase the rabbits out in front of you," Mr. Foster said.

"I guess you could smoke them out," Mr. Foster added, "but I don't know 
anybody who hunts them that way."


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Joe Futrelle            http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/People/futrelle
Scientific Data Technologies, NCSA/UIUC       ph  (217) 265-0296
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