The first American missiles were fired only a few days ago, and already the battle for Libya--or whatever the historians end up calling it--has bequeathed to the English language another euphemism for waging war. Kinetic military action is more benign than "incursion" or "invasion" and sounds more active than "police action." IMHO, however, it will not have a lot of staying power.
The phrase has been the target of mockery less than 24 hours after it was uttered, and not only from political opponents. Its too-cleverness engenders ridicule, which left unchecked causes lasting damage to the respect which every Administration needs in order to govern.
Another negative is the abbreviation for Kinetic Military Action. "KMA" has a different meaning in the urban dictionary. The mild vulgarity coincidentally has been used by Democratic politicians in some well-known examples.
We can't be too critical of NSA official Ben Rhodes for his coinage. "Kinetic" had already been used in Bush Administration briefings, and "kinetic military action" seemed to be a logical construction. It turned out to be a bridge too far.
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