Word: agha
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...seemed ludicrous at first, the idea of Gul Agha Sherzai running for President of Afghanistan. The journalists who knew him, first as governor of Kandahar, then of Nangahar province, nicknamed him Jabba the Hutt, after the villainous behemoth of the Star Wars movies. It wasn't just his size (he readily admits he is considerably overweight), or his deep, throaty chuckle, that evoked such a comparison. It was more his reputation for ruthlessness as a warlord during the country's civil war in the 1990s. Sherzai's ability to get things done, however, has earned him another nickname from...
...past midnight, although many among us stayed up all night on couches in front of our television screens. Then, at 7:30 a.m. Tehran time, the first text message arrived. "Ladies and Gentlemen, Obama has won!" The next went: "We need to celebrate!" And the next: "Salaam to Haj Agha Obama!" which cheekily bestowed the title of Mecca pilgrimage on Obama. (See pictures of Barack Obama's family tree...
...While Obama's Muslim background and middle name, Hussein, had provided fodder for his enemies in the U.S., here in Tehran, people refer to the Democrat endearingly as Hussein Agha or Mr. Hussein (in the Shi'ite Muslim tradition, Hussein is the name of the most beloved imam, the ultimate symbol of an underdog fighting against injustice...
...Ahmadinejad complements Khamenei's leadership. As a noncleric, he is not a religious rival like Rafsanjani, and unlike the reformist Khatami, who challenged some of the Islamic republic's founding tenets, Ahmadinejad supports velayat-e faqih, or rule by the clergy. He refers to the Supreme Leader as agha, a title expressing extreme deference, and kissed Khamenei's hand at his presidential inauguration...
...there is a risk that the fighting kites are becoming too effective. For a while, those made with Pakistani nylon fishing line were all but impervious to attack. Then canny arms dealers started importing flexible, razor-sharp wire from China. The escalating threat of mutually assured destruction, according to Agha, widely recognized as the best kite fighter around, has taken the artistry out of the game. "Now it's like children fighting," he complains. "No skill, no technique." So Agha leaves the hilltops of Kabul to a younger generation, who will find new ways to win. These days he heads...