The Country Pundit

Word for the Day

Grim's Hall is like a box of chocolates. No, I don't mean a cheap, thoughtless, perfunctory gift that nobody ever asks for, unlike what my favorite character from The X-Files used to think, but more that you never know what you're going to get.

Today, Grim gives us a new word, one that I've got to use more often: Mufsidoon. Here's why:

This is the Arabic for "evildoer," and can be prefixed by "Saddam's" or "Osama's" as appropriate.

The idea is that Mujahedeen and Mahdi Army (Army of the Messiah) cast the enemy as soldiers of God. That makes Coalition forces the opponents of God, soldiers of the devil. Mufsidoon more correctly identifies them, and therefore, our forces likewise.

This may wind up being a new take on that whole "one man's mufsidoon is another man's mujahedeen" thing, but hey, who cares? It's an insult to these guys in their language, using their culture, and I'll be happy to use it. So what if it digs a little deep? As Khan Noonien Singh growled nigh on 22 years ago, "So much the better..."

Thanks a lot, Grim!

Posted by Country Pundit at April 29, 2004 02:51 AM