Word: ite
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
When the golden dome of the Askariya Mosque in Samarra was destroyed last year, many Iraqis blamed not the bombers who did the deed, but American soldiers for failing to protect one of Shi?ite Islam's holiest sites. That conformed to a pattern; for more than four years, the U.S. military has been Iraqis' scapegoat of choice for all the ills of their country...
SAMARRA, IRAQ Bombs shatter two minarets of Shi'ite shrine...
...According to figures compiled by the Brookings Institution at the end of May, the number of sectarian murders, carried out mainly by Shi'ite death squads against Sunnis, has risen noticeably in recent weeks after a drop-off that began in the latter part of February. Sectarian deaths are often described as "extra-judicial killings" (EJKs) and involve the abduction, torture and murder of the victim, with the body usually left on the street. In May, says the Brookings report, citing Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Peter Pace, there were roughly 700 EJKs across Baghdad. While still lower than...
From the beginning, however, the surge strategy relied heavily on the idea that the increased presence of U.S. forces would deter sectarian violence. That worked, for a time. The Mahdi Army, the largest Shi'ite militia, tacitly agreed to suspend its campaign of murder and intimidation against Sunnis as the surge got rolling in March and April. For two months, Shi'ite death squads largely checked themselves, even while Sunni extremists pressed a campaign of bombings that left 617 Iraqis dead in March and 634 dead in April. (In May, the fatalities from bombings fell...
...restraint that violent Shi'ite factions showed early in the new U.S. military plan seems to be disappearing. As a result, the deterrence card has now been played, and the gamble appears to be lost, just as the last of the U.S. troops sent for the surge get into place. As of last month, 13,000 additional U.S. troops were deployed in Baghdad as part of the surge, which ultimately will bring the number of U.S. forces in Baghdad to some 30,000. Bergner says the last of the U.S. surge forces will be in place in about two weeks...