ABSTRACT
Theater as a lexical designator for military battle space has been in use for nearly two centuries, but never before has the word been so congruous with the reality of American wars as it is today. War as "theater" is more than a clever metaphor, especially in the realm of counterinsurgencies such as Iraq and Afghanistan; it provides a useful framework for understanding the relationship between soldiers, the texts they embody, and the audiences for whom they perform. Politically, the FM 3-24 was offered to the American public as a narrative explanation and solution for the troubles in Iraq. But militarily it was an instructional document for soldiers, to be implemented in theaters of operation. The term Soldier Street Theater is delivered with intentional irony. Street theater is often impromptu and improvised very much like Soldier Street Theater.
