7.15.2007 | Useful idiot

There's a little story in today's WaPo by a man who illustrates the concept "useful idiot." This man has supped with the devil, and confesses himself "a little sad" over the recent demise of one of the worst of the worst of the jihadis.

The moke's name is Nicholas Schmidle, sounds like "schmuck." The piece is titled "My Buddy, The Jihadi" and may be found here, if you've the stomach for it.

Here's a sample from this useful idiot who befriend enemies of civilization:

When I heard that Abdul Rashid Ghazi, the gregarious pro-Taliban cleric in charge of Lal Masjid, or the Red Mosque, died last Tuesday, I surprised myself by feeling a little sad. Over the past year, I'd gotten to know Ghazi quite well. Every few weeks, I would visit him at Lal Masjid to chat about everything from jihad and the Islamic revolution he planned to lead to our preferred vacation spots and his favorite English authors. We rarely agreed about anything substantive (such as his admiration for Osama bin Laden), but we talked for hours over tea, fruit and an occasional belly laugh.

Cute. "An occasional belly laugh." There is simply no excuse for this, unless you're on the other side of the war against us.