To Falluja

I would like to highlight a colloquial observation from the Talabani conference.

President Talabani was asked about militias being dispersed under the new Constitution, and he said that Kurdistan, for instance, wanted to keep the Peshmerga until the terrorist threat went away, and then would convert them into a type of national guard.

He said that the consequence of immediately dispersing the Peshmerga would be "many Falluja." Falluja in this sense meaning "city taken over by terrorists."

This from Bill Rogio:

"To Fallujah" has now become a verb for Iraqis, Hickey explained later, synonymous with the violent leveling of a recalcitrant city. In mid July, in fact, Baghdad ominously announced that there would be a "solution" to the Tall 'Afar "problem" within 10 days. Three dozen men from Tall 'Afar and Mosul went to Baghdad to meet with the government to circumvent "a Fallujah." In this usage Falluja means "destroyed by America."

Interestingly, we now have proof of the efficacy of force as a meme generator. Because of our actions, in Iraq city taken over by terrorists equals destroyed by America. We have created a new noun with two simultaneous meanings. The meanings are irretrievably linked, so they are both avoided.