From my window, I can see a garden… bright with flowers. Such lovely, gracile tulips… The Persians brought them here, with their poetry, and their light… It is Fall already in the high passes, and the smell of crisp poplar leaves melds with the wood-smoke on the fresh mountain air… Such simple graces. I feel I understand so much more now, insh’Allah. These people have taught me so much… And I too will have much to teach them.
I am moved by fancies that are curled
Around these images and cling,
The notion of some infinitely gentle,
Infinitely suffering thing.
Wipe your hand across your mouth and laugh:
The worlds revolve like ancient women,
Gathering fuel from vacant lots.
Death to the West! Slaughter all the pigs! Cut their throats and hang them by the heels! Allahu Akbar!
Cass, could you go by my house and check the mail box? Plus, I left a lot of dairy in the fridge, and it should be getting pretty gross by now.
Abdullah Mohammed Salah al’Din (Formerly, Flint Driscoll)
Yesssssssssssss!!!!
Dear infidel, I already arrived to my undisclosed location in Pakistan. Despite certain dificulties (I lost a leg when a mine exploded during a practical course – 101 Mines for dummies – and my personal goat- the one new recruits receive (loneliness is a b….)along with the AK47, the knife and the explosive belt – is dead due to a drone attack from those american infidels.
Nevertheless I think I saw the captured infidel… He has a beard now and tries to talk in ara-pachtoun. Nobody understands a word of what he is saying (bloody accent) but since we are polite – we do not want to hurt our (soon to die) guest’s feelings – we just smile in a comprehensive manner. He really thinks he is one of us.
Anyway, just to say hi and reiterate my curse upon you and to tell you that we are going to test the infidel…. in combat.
I’m not worried about Flint, Ibn. He’s a hardened veteran of the US Army Quartermaster Corps, and he’s been on more embeds than the whole of Fox News combined. He knows his way around a combat zone. My advise to you: when the sh*t goes down, just try and stick close to him, and do what he says, and maybe, just maybe, you won’t be coming home in a body bag. Ooops. You don’t have body bags, do you? Or homes? And you probably want to get killed, anyway… Sorry. I didn’t mean to impose my cultural norms on you, Ibn. You seem like a nice guy, for a terrorist.
Cass Umtak.
PS I’ve taken some French leave from the Bachmann campaign, until things shake down a bit more, and am now spending a lot of time in New Jersey, if you know what I mean. Same e-mail address and twitter, natch.