Militants of Hamas display their AK-47 rifles as they take part in the funeral of Omar Salman Tabech, 21, who died in a suicide attack. SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images

The AK-47 rifle turns 60 this year.

Date published: 3/21/2006

THIS YEAR MARKS the 60th birthday of the most malevolent and anti- American icon that has yet appeared on the face of the earth: Mikhail Kalashnikov's AK-47 assault rifle. One can hardly imagine a Red Square parade, Viet Cong assault, or any number of hijackings, kidnappings or terrorist incidents without the AK-47 being front and center.

In some Middle Eastern societies it is called the "jewelry of a man" and weddings, funerals, and most any event are observed with long bursts of AK fire directed (not always harmlessly) into the air.

Years ago I saw a disturbing photograph of Palestinian children being taught to assemble Kalashnikov rifles while blindfolded. The photo is deceiving because the Soviet-era rifle breaks down into a few major components. Anyone who can tie their shoes could field-strip and reassemble a Kalashnikov--blindfolded--in a few moments.

The AK is a study in simplicity and ruggedness. Once the mainstay of the huge Soviet army, it is also uniquely suited for the role to which it has been adapted--to arm poorly organized, ill-trained, and unsupported irregular guerilla forces.

The 7.62X39 Kalashnikov round is not impressive, nor is the rifle accurate. No real rifleman wants to be firing a Kalashnikov against Western rifles at ranges over 100 yards. It is, however, easy to shoot in automatic mode, due to its medium-power cartridge and relatively heavy weight.

The AK design (1946) is ingenious: Its elements have been used in a light machine gun, shotgun and sniper's rifle. AKs and variants are manufactured in numerous countries.

The Darra Pakistan arms bazaar is home to dozens of small workshops where gunsmiths can make you a custom AK while you wait. If that AK that your brother-in-law brought back from a far-away conflict has a three-position safety, you should cut it into 50 pieces and dispose of the pieces 50 miles apart, because it is a full-auto version and if you get caught with it you will spend serious time in the Stone Hotel.

The Kalashnikov is the most ubiquitous symbol of anti-Americanism. Many old Soviet clients and Islamist enemies alike hold the AK in high regard. It is hard to imagine an Osama bin Laden photo without an AK (or modern sub-caliber variant) in hand or haphazardly propped up against the wall.

The AK's symbolic power and charisma continues to intoxicate "friends of the people" who like arming the insurrectionist masses. The Kalashnikov culture thrives. Pre-teen "soldiers" in Africa and the Asian subcontinent tote AKs with a casual familiarity.

Hugo Chavez, Venezuelan "El Supremo," believes that the 100,000 AKs he recently ordered from Russia for his people's militia are too few to dissuade the capitalist devils from invading his fair nation. Chavez could have selected a more modern, formidable weapon, but a front-page picture of a campesino carrying a Heckler and Koch or FN rifle just won't cut it.

All you bourgeois, reactionary, capitalist running dogs out there beware, because the world is not going to run out of Kalashnikovs for a long, long time.

BOB SARGEANT, a defense expert, lives in Spotsylvania County.

Date published: 3/21/2006