World leaders don't often carry props at the U.N. General Assembly in New York.But on Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pulled a marker from the podium and drew a bright red line across a drawing of a bomb meant to symbolize Iran's development of a nuclear weapon.
His frequent calls for the international community to draw a “red line” on Iran’s nuclear ambitions have bled into newspaper headlines around the world and come to influence a key debate in the U.S. presidential race.
“Red line” is a powerful expression because it resonates in both English and Hebrew, said Ben Zimmer, a language columnist for The Boston Globe newspaper. "Kav adom,” the Israeli Hebrew equivalent goes back nearly 40 years.
"The earliest example that I’ve seen is from 1975, and a quote from the Israeli foreign minister, Yigal Allon, who said at the time, 'Washington has managed to draw a red line, which all the Arab countries know they must not cross, then America is not going to sacrifice Israel for Arab support,'" Zimmer said.
Ben Yagoda, an English professor at the University of Delaware and author of the upcoming book "How to Not Write Bad," said the expression has been used in other tense situations in the Middle East. In 1987, the New York Times reported that Libya and Chad drew a "red line" not to cross in their military conflict, said Yagoda.
"That was more of a literal or geographical line. But the first truly metaphorical one that didn’t have to do with any boundary on the map was from 1999," he said, referring to a New York Times report on an Iranian Muslim cleric who asked the country’s top leaders to define a "red line" for the revolution that no one would be allowed to cross.
In English, "red line” has had various meanings over the past century, and it’s only relatively recently that it has become a metaphor, similar to another common phrase "a line in the sand."
One of its earliest appearances came in the 1850s, when the "thin red line" was used to describe the British army at the battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War, according to Zimmer.
"There was a regiment of Scottish soldiers who wore red coats, and they were holding off the Russians in the battle. They became known as the ‘thin red line,’ and that became a famous expression to refer to the British army," he said.
Years later in 1962, author James Jones named his novel about World War Two "The Thin Red Line," which was adapted into a movie of the same name in 1998.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “red line” as the center line of an ice hockey rink, a reference to British soldiers' red uniforms, and a mark on a gauge or dial indicating a safety limit or critical point.
The latest use of "red line" appears to be a new interpretation of the gauge or dial definition, according to Yagoda.
“The difference is that in a motor, that’s just the nature of the motor. If you go above that, then it’s a problem,” he said, adding that the “red line” used in current foreign policy debates means that “it’s being set by someone else.”
“It’s being decided. So that is the key change that’s taking place, and now universally adopted,” he explained.
At the United Nations, Netanyahu warned that Iran's bomb making process was 70 percent finished, and that the country must not be able to reach 90 percent.
"I believe that faced with a clear red line, Iran will back down and this will give more time for sanctions and diplomacy to convince Iran to dismantle its nuclear weapons program all together," he said.
The Israeli prime minister did not mention military action or say what would happen if Iran crossed the 90 percent mark. Tehran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, like generating electricity.
Jonathan Schell, a lecturer on the nuclear dilemma at Yale University in Connecticut, said by using "red line," Mr. Netanyahu is shaping the political conversation in the United States, effectively tapping into one of the great themes of American politics -- which candidate would be toughest with the nation's enemies.
“It’s a bold phrase that speaks to convey specificity when no specificity has actually been specified. So it’s very good for creating an impression of almost an ultimatum, and this case to the United States, not to Iran," he said, noting that Mr. Netanyahu has suggested if Iran passes the "red line," the U.S. should attack.
Both Obama and Romney have used the phrase and said a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable, but they have not defined what action they would take, or when, to prevent that. Romney's campaign accused Obama of disregarding the security of Washington's closest ally in the Middle East after the U.S. president told "60 Minutes" in an interview that aired Sunday that any pressure he feels on national security decisions is "to do what's right for the American people."
Yagoda said Netanyahu may have inadvertently relieved some of the external pressure by using a cartoon-like bomb in his U.N. speech, which quickly became fodder for jokes on Twitter.
"I think this picture of the bomb really has 'defused' the power of the metaphor and made it eminently mockable," Yagoda said.
Until the U.S. presidential election is decided in November, both Romney and Obama will be speaking with the Israeli leader about Iran’s nuclear ambition, at least in shades of grey - if not in black and white.
Additional reporting by Avi Arditti
His frequent calls for the international community to draw a “red line” on Iran’s nuclear ambitions have bled into newspaper headlines around the world and come to influence a key debate in the U.S. presidential race.
“Red line” is a powerful expression because it resonates in both English and Hebrew, said Ben Zimmer, a language columnist for The Boston Globe newspaper. "Kav adom,” the Israeli Hebrew equivalent goes back nearly 40 years.
"The earliest example that I’ve seen is from 1975, and a quote from the Israeli foreign minister, Yigal Allon, who said at the time, 'Washington has managed to draw a red line, which all the Arab countries know they must not cross, then America is not going to sacrifice Israel for Arab support,'" Zimmer said.
Ben Yagoda, an English professor at the University of Delaware and author of the upcoming book "How to Not Write Bad," said the expression has been used in other tense situations in the Middle East. In 1987, the New York Times reported that Libya and Chad drew a "red line" not to cross in their military conflict, said Yagoda.
"That was more of a literal or geographical line. But the first truly metaphorical one that didn’t have to do with any boundary on the map was from 1999," he said, referring to a New York Times report on an Iranian Muslim cleric who asked the country’s top leaders to define a "red line" for the revolution that no one would be allowed to cross.
In English, "red line” has had various meanings over the past century, and it’s only relatively recently that it has become a metaphor, similar to another common phrase "a line in the sand."
One of its earliest appearances came in the 1850s, when the "thin red line" was used to describe the British army at the battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War, according to Zimmer.
"There was a regiment of Scottish soldiers who wore red coats, and they were holding off the Russians in the battle. They became known as the ‘thin red line,’ and that became a famous expression to refer to the British army," he said.
Years later in 1962, author James Jones named his novel about World War Two "The Thin Red Line," which was adapted into a movie of the same name in 1998.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “red line” as the center line of an ice hockey rink, a reference to British soldiers' red uniforms, and a mark on a gauge or dial indicating a safety limit or critical point.
The latest use of "red line" appears to be a new interpretation of the gauge or dial definition, according to Yagoda.
“The difference is that in a motor, that’s just the nature of the motor. If you go above that, then it’s a problem,” he said, adding that the “red line” used in current foreign policy debates means that “it’s being set by someone else.”
“It’s being decided. So that is the key change that’s taking place, and now universally adopted,” he explained.
At the United Nations, Netanyahu warned that Iran's bomb making process was 70 percent finished, and that the country must not be able to reach 90 percent.
"I believe that faced with a clear red line, Iran will back down and this will give more time for sanctions and diplomacy to convince Iran to dismantle its nuclear weapons program all together," he said.
The Israeli prime minister did not mention military action or say what would happen if Iran crossed the 90 percent mark. Tehran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, like generating electricity.
Jonathan Schell, a lecturer on the nuclear dilemma at Yale University in Connecticut, said by using "red line," Mr. Netanyahu is shaping the political conversation in the United States, effectively tapping into one of the great themes of American politics -- which candidate would be toughest with the nation's enemies.
“It’s a bold phrase that speaks to convey specificity when no specificity has actually been specified. So it’s very good for creating an impression of almost an ultimatum, and this case to the United States, not to Iran," he said, noting that Mr. Netanyahu has suggested if Iran passes the "red line," the U.S. should attack.
Both Obama and Romney have used the phrase and said a nuclear-armed Iran is unacceptable, but they have not defined what action they would take, or when, to prevent that. Romney's campaign accused Obama of disregarding the security of Washington's closest ally in the Middle East after the U.S. president told "60 Minutes" in an interview that aired Sunday that any pressure he feels on national security decisions is "to do what's right for the American people."
Yagoda said Netanyahu may have inadvertently relieved some of the external pressure by using a cartoon-like bomb in his U.N. speech, which quickly became fodder for jokes on Twitter.
"I think this picture of the bomb really has 'defused' the power of the metaphor and made it eminently mockable," Yagoda said.
Until the U.S. presidential election is decided in November, both Romney and Obama will be speaking with the Israeli leader about Iran’s nuclear ambition, at least in shades of grey - if not in black and white.
Additional reporting by Avi Arditti