Several leaders, including French foreign minister Laurent Fabius and Lieutenant General James Terry, head of United States operations against Isil in Iraq, have expressed preference for Daesh, an acronym for al-Dawla al-Islamyia fil Iraq wa'al Sham, an Arabic version of the group's name. The term is despised by the group itself because it is a pejorative in Arabic and sounds similar to an Arabic term for treading underfoot and a separate term for a person who sows discord.