Word: itely
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...want to understand the strange realities of Iraq's escalating civil war, consider the predicament of the 2nd Brigade of the Iraqi Army's 6th Division. The troops live at Old MoD, a fortified base that sits right on Baghdad's sectarian fault line. To the east is Shi'ite-majority Sadr City, the sprawling slum that is the stronghold of the Mahdi Army, the militia blamed for much of the sectarian killings in Baghdad; to the north is Adhamiya, the mostly Sunni neighborhood where insurgents and terrorists are known to frequently hide out. At night soldiers...
...Since nonpartisan observers agree that the worst perpetrators of sectarian violence in Baghdad are Shi'ite militias, you'd expect the 600-man Iraqi brigade to be focused mostly on Sadr City, engaging the Mahdi Army on a daily basis. But while the brigade does police Sunni areas - setting up checkpoints, patrolling in vehicles and on foot, launching midnight raids - it is not nearly as aggressive in Sadr City, where an uneasy accommodation has been reached with the Mahdi Army. "There's some sensitivity when going into Sadr City for an offensive operation," says Lieut. Colonel Paul Finken...
...rebuilding effort is shaping up as a proxy battle for influence in the Middle East. Oil-rich Sunni Arabs who are worried about the rise of Hizballah and other militant Shi'ite groups in Iran and Iraq don't want to lose Lebanon. (Many of them have summer homes here.) The Saudis have already provided $1 billion in emergency funds to Lebanon's central banks and an additional $500 million in reconstruction aid to the Lebanese government. The rebuilding frenzy could provide an opportunity for the U.S. to improve its tarnished reputation with the Lebanese people...
...force to be deployed in anything more than symbolic numbers - and it will formally take possession of the areas vacated by withdrawing Israeli forces. But the Lebanese Army, whose forces in the south have traditionally been on good terms with Hizballah, and whose fighting forces are almost half Shi'ite, is unlikely to try and forcibly disarm Hizballah. France - which is slated to lead the U.N. force and be its major troop-contributor with some 5,000 men - has said the same thing...
...fight another day, and to dictate the terms on which it will observe the truce. The Lebanese government doesn't appear to have much enthusiasm for confronting Hizballah on the disarmament issue, mindful of the fact that the group has emerged politically stronger than ever, particularly among its Shi'ite base, and seeking a showdown over disarmament could provoke another ruinous civil...