Abu Muqawama, in DC
Abu Muqawama writes this post from Charlie's office.* We're about to head to the Afghanistan event as soon as she's done with a meeting. Abu Muqawama is sick with a wicked head cold and jet-lagged something fierce but quite happy all the same -- Dave over at Small Wars Journal loaded your humble blogger down with free books and DVDs today. Quite the "Welcome Back to America" present. Thanks, Dave! Speaking of free books, Abu Muqawama/Small Wars Journal readers have donated a total of 54 books (44 books + ten copies of FM 3-24) to the Afghanistan COIN Library
*To answer some comments posted in the past 48 hours, Abu Muqawama needs to remind his readers that your two bloggers are not a romantic item. The good news, guys, is that a) Charlie is just as hot as you think she is and b) she's single. On the other hand, she has a lot of friends who are a) trained killers (really) and b) will not think twice about breaking you in half. So, you know, take your chances.
12 comments:
FYI, the Amazon tally of COIN book donations seems to be undercounting purchases, possibly due to a 12/3 cutoff date. (I know they're currently missing two of mine.) Don't know why, but maybe their wish list system isn't set up for something this big.
Actually, SOAR, you could build more interest in your blog by alluding to some romantic friction. This could be the Cheers' Diane and Sam of the milblogs. Might drive your comments up to six or seven.
Can one of you email me the mailing address for the academy? I want to make sure they are on the distro list from my institution.
So - not being an arabic reader, I've been racking the search engines trying to figure out your name.
So far this is what I have:
abu: father (or holy man ;)
http://www.touregypt.net/abu.htm
Muqawama: "the doctrine of constant combat"
Is there a different sense, or is this close?
B00jum, it's a play on words. "Abu" means "father of" and typically is used in all Arabic dialects as a nickname (and most especially with terrorists in their noms).
"Muquwama" is a play on "resistance." The noun itself is used often in the titles of non-state actors fighting against their designated pariahs, perhaps the two most famous being Hamas and Hezbollah, which include the root in their longer names.
I refuse to give AM the honorific "abu" and instead call him SOAR (Son of A Resistance), a play on "Ibn" or "Bin" in the Arabic parlance.
Of course, shortening that to BM instead of AM would connote something I wouldn't wish to express, so I call him SOAR, which is my attempt to rebrand him as what he more likely is: Not the sire of revolution, but the son who experiences it and learns from the master.
Anon: could you please suggestan Arabic non-de-guerre/nom-de-plume for me please? something suggesting that I am a civilian who wants to study and be involved in COIN strategy and theory? Thanks in advance.
What do you think, SOAR (errr, AM)?
Some variation along the lines of Talib Aziz bin al-Irhabi w al-Kabab.
That's a play on a popular Egyptian movie about terrorism (and the half-name of a really horrific thriller "al Irhabi" that actually is better known; you can act cool by mentioning the better of the two films).
The whole name would literally (idiomatics be damned!) translate to Powerful/bright student who is the son of the terrorist and the kebab.
Mmmmmm. Kebabs.
Idiomatically it ties you to two pop cultural images (well, three, if you can't the crappy Egyptian movie with the half-name): 1) A movie most young people like; and 2) Talib Aziz M. Zaini, who at one time was the most popular minister in Iraq (Youth & Sport) because of the nation's soccer teams.
Anyway, Talib Aziz is a popular name in Iraq and other parts of the Arab diaspora. Everyone will probably assume that's your real name and the rest is just a play on the film(s).
This would allow you to handle questions about youth, sports, crappy terrorist movies and still appear provocative.
It might also get you into a fight if you mentioned the name out loud to a Cairo film critic, Palestinian rapper (Inta al-Irhabi!) or someone who knows anyone named Talib Aziz (which would be a quite a few people).
Most native speakers would just find the entire combination odd and consider you a harmless student.
b00jum,
as Anon. probably more effectively portrayed, "Abu" literally does translate to "father". When placed before a noun, it becomes "father of". This is often used for nicknames/honorifics, such as, for example, Abu Mazen (the nickname of Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Prez).
Another usage of "Abu" is to mean "possessor of"...for example, "Abu Shuwarib", "the guy with the mustache" or "he who is mustachioed." You can also see this in the place name Abu Dhabi. A Dhabi is a kind of small gazelle, and Abu Dhabi has a lot of them. Get it?
Anon is right, Muqawama means "resistance". AM's nickname has always struck me as a little weird to be honest because I always interpreted it literally - Abu Muqawama sounds more like someone who would be posting from the ISA!
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On a completely different note, Charlie I would totally go after you but I already have a Ph.D. acquiring girlfriend who can kick my ass. Too dangerous!
As a matter of fact, and in curiosity as a student of Arabic...what the hell is the phrase for counter insurgency?
I may have just answered my own question in a triple post: if anyone is wondering, best I can find is "Mukafaha al-tamarid" (form III masdar of kaf-fa-ha and form V of ma-ra-dal) as "fighting of the insurrection"
Well, it depends on what you want to convey, right Aaron? Which side is one on? "Irhab" can imply terrorism whereas "intifadah" demands righteous uprising. One man's "tamarid" is another man's tasty spice.
In the Arabic world, "Mukafaha" can possess a very specific meaning because it's part of the official name of Libya's anti-vice police, al-Mukafaha, not to mention the Lebanese Army's elite SWAT/Palace Guard unit.
SOAR can probably talk about them.
In OIF, the special IP squads that investigate (for the Ministry of the Interior) insurgency crimes that carry the death penalty (often exacted on the spot) are called "Maktab Mukafaha Jara'im Al-Kubra" (MMJK), and they're considered the counter-insurgency forces most loyal to the sectarian Dawa-led government.
The root of the word (kafah) implies the Arabic sense of two common thoughts: 1) "to intercede," which is what police do -- they come between criminals and civil society; and, 2) "to uncover," which police do with crimes.
But what if the "criminals" are the heroes? What if they're uncovering for the police or heretical state something that is good?
For this, there are a great many Arabic terms for "counter-insurgency" that imply something not so cheerful. These usages are idiomatic. When we translate for our officials (unlistened to) pronouncements on Iraq, terrorism, blah, blah, blah, the US government tends to use combinations of "Mukafaha" and "Irhab."
Al Qaeda, et al, often come back with terms borrowed from the classic Arabic of al-Baqara(h)'s 190th Verse (or commentary from Ahkam al-Bughat), typically adding a grim "Fitnah" or "Shirk" and a jubilant "Jihad" to the mix.
In other words, majnoon wahabbi modern justifications for Surah al-Tawba(h).
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