Word: ites
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...strategy for drawing down U.S. force levels, after all, has been predicated on replacing them with Iraqi units. But the sectarian upsurge has also highlighted the troubling extent to which many of the men in the most capable Iraqi security units remain loyal to ethnic and sectarian agendas. Shi'ite leader al-Hakim, for instance, had initially blamed the Samarra bombing in part on Khalilzad's pressure on his party to relinquish control of the Interior Ministry, which controls some 110,000 police and paramilitary personnel-many of whom are drawn from Shi'ite militias and have been accused...
...willingness among those same officials to make the real compromises needed to break the deadlock over forming a government of national unity. And the sectarian upsurge appears to have boosted the political momentum of forces outside of Khalilzad's sphere of influence, foremost among them the firebrand Shi'ite cleric Moqtada Sadr...
...Despite waging two insurrections against U.S. forces and antagonizing some more powerful Shi'ite leaders, Sadr has emerged not only as the kingmaker within the dominant Shi'ite parliamentary alliance, but also as potentially the most important bridge between Shi'ite and Sunni militants. The events of the past week saw him take a major role in the parliament of the streets which rapidly eclipsed the tortuous negotiations of elected legislators: Sadr's followers are reported to have been in the forefront of attacks on Sunnis in the 24 hours that followed the Samarra bombing, while their leader was away...
...move, and talk of joint action to protect holy places, underlined Sadr's ability to reach out to at least some Sunnis-not least because of nationalist credentials built by his confrontations with U.S. forces, and also by his firm rejection of the SCIRI proposal for a southern Shi'ite mini-state...
...essence, Sadr appears to be betting that Shi'ite and Sunni Iraqis mistrust the U.S. more than they mistrust each other, a not unreasonable assumption. Indeed, both Shi'ites and Sunnis on the streets tend to blame the U.S. presence for the mounting sectarian discord; opinion polls have long found a majority of Iraqis wanting Coalition forces to leave. The parties of the dominant Shi'ite alliance are formally committed to a similar position, although in reality they're in no hurry to face the security consequences of a hasty U.S. departure. Still, Sadr's game plan may include championing...