Name.

This is coolbert:

In each and every war that the American military has fought in, the American soldier has found a short hand way of describing the enemy soldier.

Some descriptive name that soldiers use when referring to the enemy. A term that is understood by all American troops.

De-personalizes the foe.

Some authorities [psychologists mostly] also maintain that this practice also de-humanizes the enemy soldier as well.

Makes him less than human.

Makes it easier to kill him in battle.

I am not sure if that is exactly so. It may be that these names are more descriptive in nature and are not intended to be derogatory or venal. The names may become this, derogatory and venal, but were not always intended to be so in the first place. But, in many cases, do become so, derogatory and venal.

During the American Revolutionary War, the British redcoats were referred to as "lobsterbacks".

During the many wars between the U.S. Army and the various American Indian nations, the Indians were referred to as the "hostiles". [Well, they were hostile when in combat with the U.S. Army, were they not!!??]

During the American Civil War, Union troops were referred to as "bluebellies". Confederate troops were referred to as either "rebs", or "sesesh" [secessionist]. With regard to these terms, the prefix "damned" was usually affixed, i.e., "damned rebs".

During the Spanish-American War, the Spanish forces were referred to as the "dons". This is not necessarily a derogatory term. "Don" in Spanish is a honorific name meaning "sir".

During both World War One [WW1] and World War Two [WW2], Germans collectively were referred to as "krauts", or "heinies". Germans were said to have a special liking for sauerkraut, hence the name 'kraut". Heinie is an obvious reference to one of the most common and popular of German names for men, Heinrich.

[Americans were not alone when it came to the Germans. The French called the Germans "le boche" Not sure of what the term "boche" means.]

During WW2, the Japanese were referred to as either "Japs" [short for Japanese], or "Nips" [short for Nippon, the word the Japanese call their own land, Nippon.]

During the Korean War, Koreans, no matter whose side they were on, were referred to by Americans as "gooks". A derogatory term for sure. But does NOT have a venal origin to it. "Gook" comes from the Korean word meaning person. A Korean refers to themselves as a han-guk [Korean person] [guk pronounced as "gook"]. The Korean term for an American is a me-guk [American person]. Again, the origin of "gook" is a non-derogatory term, but BECAME an insulting and venal term American troops used to describe Koreans in general.

In Vietnam, Vietnamese on both sides were referred to by Americans as "dinks" or as "zips" ". Zip" is a derogatory term and stands for "zero-importance-person". Meaning someone, that if killed, is a non-entity that no one will be concerned with. Another name Americans applied to the Vietnamese was "nugent". This comes from the very common Vietnamese name of Ngyuen [pronounced new-yen]. [The son-in-law of President Johnson was Patrick Nugent. He DID serve in Vietnam at the insistence of his father-in-law. I have often thought the nickname "nugent" was somehow related to Patrick. But I cannot confirm this.] Yet another appellation given to the South Vietnamese was "Marvin". This name had it's origin in the American acronym for the Army of South Vietnam [ARVN]. South Vietnamese police were nick-named "White Mice" by American soldiers. This referred both to the white uniforms that the South Vietnamese police were fond of wearing, and also to the mouse like appearance [the South Vietnamese General Nguyen Cao Ky DID seem to resemble a mouse to many Americans!!] many Americans attributed to Vietnamese men in general [NOT very flattering].

[Vietnamese, especially those Vietnamese military personnel that had American advisors, used to refer to all Americans as the "big nosed guys". A term referring to the protruding noses of Americans, as compared to the smaller noses of Orientals such as the Vietnamese.]

This name calling can work both ways!!

And in the current wars both in Iraq and in Afghanistan, Islamic fighters and Muslims in general are referred to as "hajii".

This name should NOT necessarily be thought of as being a derogatory name. Hajii is a honorific title that all Muslims that have made the holy pilgrimage to Mecca can claim.

Many Muslims use this name. 

It IS a very common name, found all over the Islamic world. The recently deceased infamous dictator Idi Amin Dada of Uganda, among the many titles that he claimed [Generalissimo Field Marshal Doctor Professor President-For-Life King of Scotland], also used to call himself hajii. WAS very proud that he had made the pilgrimage to Mecca. May not have a derogatory origin, BUT probably WILL become venal in nature, if not already so!!

Well, at least one cannot say the American soldier is not imaginative in this area!!

coolbert.