Word: iraqi
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...what looks to be a rise in sectarian attacks directed against Shi'ites. But the political and security dynamics dampening a Mahdi Army comeback today could change drastically in the coming months as U.S. forces fade from the streets of major cities across Iraq as part of a U.S.-Iraqi agreement calling for American troops to be off the streets of urban areas by June. U.S. military officials have warned that sectarian violence is likely to rise as the drawdown goes forward. Whether the Mahdi Army will reconsider its cease-fire then is a question Sadr's followers say only...
...Iraqi security forces remain wary as they face a potentially restless Mahdi Army while Sunni militants step up attacks at the same time. "We have information that our enemies are re-energizing themselves," said Brigadier General Faisal Malik Mohsen, an Iraqi National Police commander in Baghdad. "That goes for the militias as well as al-Qaeda in Iraq...
...Should the Mahdi Army return to the streets, Mohsen doubts it could do so with the same strength it showed in past years. Iraqi security forces, with help from U.S. troops, now largely control areas that were once virtually untouchable militia havens such as Sadr City in Baghdad and the port city of Basra in the south of Iraq. The Mahdi Army dispatched gunmen nightly during the height of the sectarian violence. Yet Mohsen believes the odds of such a situation unfolding again are low, at least in Baghdad - given the myriad checkpoints, blast wall cordons and Iraqi security forces...
...addition to increased security in Baghdad, the political environment has changed in ways that may make a resurgent Mahdi Army less welcome than before to average Iraqis. During the worst of the sectarian violence, much of the Sunni community held a completely rejectionist stance toward the Iraqi government and U.S. forces. In the minds of many Iraqis and militiamen and their passive supporters, that left virtually all Sunni communities complicit in insurgent violence and therefore fair game for bloody reprisal attacks like the bombings Thursday and Friday. But today, many key Sunni factions work with the government and U.S. forces...
...Volunteered extensively at your place of worship, you might be interested in the Islamic Society Spring Dinner (Quincy Dining Hall, 8:30 p.m., $5), where there will be Iraqi and South Asian foods. But be sure to come in cultural attire. You can also join in on the Havdalah on the Charles (meet at Harvard Hillel, 8 p.m., free). There will be food...