The White House
plans to draw down half of the US troops in Afghanistan, which may expose
Central Asia to more terrorism. That calls for diplomacy between this region
and the United States. Unfortunately, American diplomacy is shaky, partly
because US President Donald Trump and his aides disdain English. Here’s Exhibit
A:
A White House
spokesman told the Washington Post that
the former Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, “ ‘gave a fulsome readout of a
meeting [between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin] immediately
afterward to other U.S. officials in a private setting, as well as a readout to
the press.’ ” Evidently the spokesman thinks that “fulsome” means “full.” It
does not. The American Heritage Dictionary defines “fulsome” as “excessively
flattering or insincerely earnest.” Come to think of it, that spokesman may
know less than he lets on. – Leon Taylor tayloralmaty@gmail.com
References
The American Heritage Dictionary. 2012. Fifth edition. Dell.
Thomas
Gibbons-Neff and Mujib Mashal. 2018. U.S.
to withdraw about 7,000 troops from Afghanistan, officials say. The New
York Times. December 20.
Greg Miller.
2019. Officials in dark on Putin talks. The
Washington Post. January 13.
