Framing the Coalition Military Operations in Iraq: A Conceptual Metaphor Approach in Naming The naming of military operations needs to be handled with caution if a series of operations are carried out, because peculiar framing of the names of the military operations are often required. Such framings are often realized by conceptual metaphors in the naming. In fact, the naming of military operations is not simply a literal game, but an important part of the operation, framed to guarantee the intended success. So long as a name is given, the operation will be exercised with that name, often carrying on the task of building up military-oriented frames: showing off the strength of the army, raising the morale of the army, intimidating, threatening, deceiving and/or luring the enemy. Therefore, the naming of a military operation is not a trivial matter to any army involved. This is especially true of the naming of Coalition Military Operations in Iraq(CMO) for the Coalition Forces(CFs). For one thing, the operations themselves are under the check of the Iraqis, people in the US and the UK, and even people around the world. For the other, many military operations are inevitably involved. The former is especially true if we consider the fact that the Coalition Forces invaded Iraq without being granted the right from the United Nations and they have been running the risk of being accused of aggressors rather than liberators by both Iraqis and people of the other parts of the world. All this dictates that the naming of the military operations in Iraq needs to be handled with great care. In light of the above-mentioned, this paper makes a study of conceptual metaphors used in the naming of the CMO and the major frames brought about. The Coalition Military Operations are downloaded from WIKIPEDIA and a total of 565 names of the operations are obtained and examined, spanning from 2004 to 2008. It is found that there is a high percentage of conceptual metaphors used in the naming of CMO. Furthermore, of all the names of the operations, major conceptual metaphors may include the following: (1) CMO is Iraqi Freedom/Justice/Liberty/Restoring Rights(Peace)/Help; (2) CMO is Light; (3) CMO is Care/Security; (4) CMO is Clean Sweep; (5) CMO is Moving Forward; (6) CMO is Physical Strike; (7) CMO is Natural Force/Disaster; (8) CMO is Fury/Rage/Punishment; (9) CMO is Great Gods/Devils/Angel; (10) CMO is Brave Warrior; (11) CMO is Ferocious/Poisonous Wild Animal/Animal’s Special Ability; (12) CMO is Formidable Natural or Man-made Arms; (14) CMO is Famous American Generals in the History; (15) CMO is Crusade. The Major frames created may be: (1)CFs are bringing freedom(liberty, peace)/offering help to Iraq; (2) CFs are Doing justice in Iraq; (3) CFs are Formidable; (4) CFs appearing in Iraq is a matter of course politically. It is hoped that the current study may broaden our understanding of the naming of CMP and the application of frame and conceptual metaphor theory. Key words: framing; naming of military operations; conceptual