'Tis but thy name that is my enemy.

'Tis but thy name that is my enemy.
...
What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other word would smell as sweet.
[Romeo and Juliet, Act 2, scene 2]

When Abu Musab al-Zarqawi decided to rename his jihadist group Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad ("Group of Monotheism and Jihad"), and to call it instead, Al-Qaeda in Iraq and declare allegiance to bin Laden, he did W a great favor.

Now W, McConnell, et al., can refer to "al Qaeda in Iraq" (AQI), and convincingly conflate it with the original al Qaeda which attacked the U.S. on 9/11. No longer simply a Sunni jihadist group, one among many in the Iraqi insurgency, AQI has become for W the apparently omnipotent al Qaeda, and it's in Iraq!

It was a simple re-naming that provided W with this gift.

What's in a name? In the hands of skilled propagandists, quite a lot!

I mention this by way of explanation. One of my readers posted this blog at DukeCityFix blogroll (thanks, Machi! I appreciate the publicity!). The comment accompanying the posting reads:

I have been thoroughly enjoying the unfortunately-named
http://alqaedanabq.blogspot.com/
[emphasis added]

The name - however unfortunate - was deliberately chosen in imitation of al-Zarqawi, to illustrate that simply being called al Qaeda in X does not automatically transform one into an ally of Osama bin Laden ... but it might excite the attention of NSAers conducting illegal, warrantless Internet data-mining, perhaps distracting them for just a second from other illegal warrantless searches.

Even not-so-careful readers of this blog will note that I do NOT advocate violence, or express anything that could be construed as anti-American sentiment. On the contrary: I seek the restoration of the U.S. Constitution as the Supreme Law of the Land. (... and, to this end, I seek the election of Democratic candidates to national office in the Nov 2008 elections!... preferably new Democrats - the current crop of Congressional Dems frequently acting like simply warmer-and-fuzzier Republicans.)

So... the name may be "unfortunate", but it was chosen deliberately and with a purpose. (... and it doesn't hurt that the string of A's and Q's is almost alliterative and fun to say!)