I hereby take the pledge to never again (not that I've been in the habit of it) modify the phrase "Republican Guard" with the adjective "elite." I wish that the rest of the media would stop doing so. It's either redundant, or pointless, because the only sense in which they are "elite" is in relation to half-starving conscripts with guns in their back. Our non-coms are more elite than their officers, in terms of weaponry, motivation and fighting ability.

I was under the impression that 'elite' referred to a different R.G. than the regular (something like a Praetorian guard?) In any case, they can call their divisions anything they like... However, I think we may soon be calling them the Delete R.G.!

Yes, there is a "Special Republican Guard" also- these were the only RG troops allowed within Baghdad, so yes, they were very similar to the Praetorian Guard.

But the media often referred to the "elite" Republican Guard, meaning just the regular RG.

"Elite" is advertising, as are terms such as "democratic people's republic". All of these terms are a fairly reliable indicator that the reality is the opposite of the description.

I like Ken's terminology.

Maybe "Banal Totalitarian Thugs" was already taken.

Yep, that's one of my personal barometers on how the war is going. The embedded correspondents dropped the "elite" sometime Sunday, and the anchors/commentators/print reporters seemed to quit using it sometime Monday, 4/7. The Anglo/Australio/American Warblogosphere hasn't used the term for days now Once again, bloggers are on the leading edge -- spotting "tipping points" earliest!!