Word: laith
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...constitution would almost certainly delay any plans for a partial pullout of U.S. troops. But the U.S. has officially refused to negotiate with al-Sadr because of his history of insurrection. That leaves it to the Iraqi government to try to win him over. Says government spokesman Laith Kubba: "There is a lot of effort behind the scenes to bring everybody on board." --By Christopher Allbritton, Aparisim Ghosh and Meitham Jasim
Like many Iraqi army officers, Abu Laith (the alias of a Baath Party member from Fallujah and former captain in Saddam's 6th Armored Division) found himself out of a job when the U.S. dissolved both the Baath Party and the Iraqi military in 2003. His army commission and party membership, formerly twin keys to success in the old Iraq, were now liabilities. For months, he stayed in his house, depressed. "Iraqis thought it was a great honor to be an officer in the army," he said. "I'd lost my honor...
...Laith and up to 9,000 other commanders, soldiers, cops, spies and other members of the security forces tasked with battling insurgents face a second cleansing of their ranks. The Transitional Iraqi Government headed by Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a religious Shi'ite, alleges that there's a growing threat from these returned Baathists, and members of his party have pledged to reverse Allawi's plans to include these men in the security services...
...took part in the regime. Iraq's new leaders, who have long memories of the oppression of their people by an Iraqi military largely commanded by Sunni officers, view many Sunnis with suspicion and it's the Sunnis' turn to be nervous. "They do not mean 'Baathists'," said Abu Laith, the Iraqi captain. "They mean Sunnis...
...down with 11 killed, 20 Iraqi troops taken from their trucks and executed near the western city of Haditha and a number of bodies fished from the Tigris south of Baghdad, losing experienced officers to a newly energized insurgency is not something the Americans want to see. But Abu Laith is ready to fight for the insurgency if the Shi'ite leadership comes for him. "We are professional men and we know how to fight," he said. "If the government has 1,000 enemies now, they will have 10,000 enemies. We are fighting for our lives...