Word: iraqi
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...militias. "The militia, whose name means mobilization in Persian, was created by Ayatullah Khomeini in the 1980s to recruit young men to fight against Iraq. But a decade later, they took on the role of an official morality police, becoming better known for raiding parties than for raiding the Iraqi front line." In 2005, she says, they took on an unprecedented function when they got out the vote that propelled Ahmadinejad into the presidency by a landslide. Now, it appears, they're being deployed to ensure he remains in office...
...lack of information. Iranian TV stations are readily available in Iraq, and the Arabic news channels like al-Jazeera and al-Arabiyah have provided in-depth coverage of the election. And since 60% of the Iraqi population shares Iran's official Shi'a faith, you'd expect an avid interest in the political drama unfolding in Tehran. But many Iraqis say they have not been paying attention. "It's happening next door, but it feels very far away," says Hadi Hussein, a Baghdad shop owner. (See pictures of Iran's presidential elections and their turbulent aftermath...
...Iraqis have more pressing problems closer to home. For all the coverage of the Iranian election and its aftermath, Iraqis have been transfixed by a domestic story. The June 12 assassination of prominent Sunni leader Harith al-Ubaidi threw Iraqi politics into turmoil, raising the frightening prospect of a return to the sectarian war that nearly tore the country apart in 2006-07. Those fears have abated somewhat, but Ubaidi's murder continues to dominate the headlines. "Iranian politics is interesting, but for us, it is a sideshow," says Amr Fayad, a political analyst in Baghdad. "We are worried about...
...Iraqis know it makes no difference who becomes President of Iran. Iraqis know from long experience that their neighbor - and historic enemy - is ruled not by its politicians but by its clergy. Although President Ahmadinejad gets plenty of press, even Iraqis with no interest in politics will tell you that the man who really matters in Tehran is Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei. So the allegation that the election was rigged for Ahmadinejad doesn't raise too many eyebrows in Baghdad. "It was never about who the Iranian people want. It was always about who Khamenei wants," says...
Outmatched in frontal combat, the militants have taken a cue from Iraqi counterparts in making IEDs, or improvised explosive devices, their weapon of choice. While their use has declined in Iraq, IEDs are now taking a deadlier toll on coalition forces in Afghanistan. The latest NATO figures show that the use of roadside bombs is up 80% so far this year, making them the primary killer of U.S. and international troops. In 2008, 172 troops died from a record 3,276 IEDs, a 45% jump from the year before, according to the Joint IED Defeat Organization, a Pentagon agency. This...