At War with Metaphor offers a compelling analysis of our public discussions of the war on terror and the binding conceptual metaphors through which they are framed. Examining the images of animal, insect, and disease that shape and limit our understanding of the war, and tying these images to historical and contemporary uses of propaganda and media filters, the authors explore how news media, including political cartoons and talk radio, are enmeshed in this damaging, dehumanizing language.

When photographs documenting the torture and humiliation of prisoners at Abu Ghraib came to the attention of a horrified public, national and international voices were raised in shock, asking how this happened. At War with Metaphor offers an answer, arguing that the abuses of Abu Ghraib were part of a systemic continuum of dehumanization. This continuum has its roots in our public discussions of the war on terror and the metaphors through which they are repeatedly framed. Arguing earnestly and incisively that these metaphors, if left unexamined, bind us into a cycle of violence that will only...