Al-Masri Must Be Arabic for "Just Kill Me"

Recently, a top Al-Qaeda propaganda maestro was killed in by a UAV strike in North Waziristan [AFP]:

An Egyptian Al-Qaeda operative -- described by the United States as the terror network's propaganda chief -- was killed in a missile strike in Pakistan, security officials said on Saturday.

Abu Jihad al-Masri was among several rebels killed when two missiles fired by a suspected US spy drone hit a truck in the North Waziristan tribal region bordering Afghanistan on Friday night, they said.

This is Abu Jihad Al-Masri, not to be confused with Abu Khabab Al-Masri, the "Mad Scientist" of Al-Qaeda, who was killed in an airstrike in July. Then there was the commander Abu Saeed Al-Masri, shot dead by the Pakistani military in August. Also, don't forget Abu Obaidah Al-Masri, who died of natural causes. And then their is the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, Abu Ayub Al-Masri, who sucks at his job so bad that Zawahiri sent him a nasty letter, and even he has been confused for being dead or captured a couple of times.

Keeping up with all the permutations of "Al-Masri" in the "who's who of terrorism" can give someone a headache worse than trying to remember all the Chets at the yachting regatta. The name Al-Masri, which actually means The Egyptian in Arabic, can best be associated with the red-shirted extras on Star Trek for simplification purposes. They usually don't stick around for the next episode.