Word: confrontational
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...vote on this?" asks a veteran of both the Iraqi and Vietnam wars. "I see more arrogance than ever, assuming once again that Western genius counts for more than Eastern resolve." Already the sectarian militias so eager to kill civilians across Baghdad have been careful not to confront U.S. forces. When U.S. troops appear, the Mahdi Army simply melts away and waits for another moment. Unless they are killed off, jailed or somehow turned into allies--unlikely outcomes all--Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite militia fighters will still be around because they have more patience than the U.S. has staying...
...anymore. The political wing of Sadr's ranks includes 30 parliamentarians and four ministry heads from the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, whose shaky hold on authority loosened further still after the Sadr bloc launched a boycott in November that continues. That means any decision to confront Sadr is as much political as it is tactical. "We're in the capital," says Lt. Col. James Nickolas, the commander of U.S. forces in Ghazaliya, who plans simply to hold the line against the Mahdi Army until the White House offers a new strategy. "Politics weighs a little...
...Baghdad saw noticeably fewer murders. The episode revealed two important things. First, U.S. forces can ratchet down the killings in Baghdad, at least for a time, with basic tactics like roadblocks and military policing. And second, as of now, the militias so eager to kill civilians are reluctant to confront American troops. The Mahdi Army didn't attack U.S. forces in earnest even when they massed at the gates of Sadr City, ready to plunge into the area in search of a kidnapped U.S. soldier who remains missing...
...heading it off. Insurgents and fighters from al-Qaeda in Iraq regularly strike U.S. forces in Anbar with small arms, massive roadside bombs and mortars that carry blasts comparable to heavy artillery. Militants come to the area from surrounding countries and elsewhere in Iraq specifically for a chance to confront U.S. troops, which is part of the reason the insurgency persists. It's a dilemma familiar to counterinsurgency strategists: much of the fighting in Ramadi and other places continues because of the American presence, not in spite of it. U.S. commanders tasked with clearing Ramadi, the latest insurgent...
...Israel, but also the Sunni Arab governments threatened by Tehran's challenge to their standing at home and regionally. The prospect of Tehran dictating security and oil policy, and most worrisome, intervening on behalf of local Shi'ite populations, has Sunni rulers across the region pressing Washington to confront Iran...