Word: mehdi
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...recent months, not only with the tribal militants but also amongst ordinary Pakistanis who resent the military's dominance in government and civilian affairs. While onlookers at today's explosion lamented the loss of life, burgeoning resentment of the military colored even the experiences of victims and eyewitnesses. Irshan Mehdi, a 42-year-old shopkeeper from Rawalpindi, had been overtaking the bus just as it blew up. "Suddenly I heard a huge sound, and my car collapsed. My children were screaming. The street was filled with injured people." Pakistanis have great respect for the army, says Mehdi, "because they...
...opposition has revolved around two figures: Mehdi Karroubi, a moderate cleric who was once Speaker of Parliament, and Rafsanjani, the powerful former President, who prizes economic growth over democracy and Islamic ideology. Ahmadinejad also has problems outside Tehran. In the holy city of Qum, south of the capital, Ahmadinejad has offended the grand ayatullahs, who act as the country's spiritual leaders. Most irritating have been his frequent allusions to his connection to the Hidden Imam, the last in a line of descendants of the Prophet Muhammad, who Shi'ites believe will return at the end of the world...
...suspected Sunni insurgents. Neighborhood residents, however, feel that they are under attack both from Shi'ite militias and from U.S.-backed government forces. Taylor is confident that General Samir is a good and fair commander, but whether the government as a whole is willing to take down Sadr's Mehdi Army is another matter...
...attack on the Mehdi Army would be enormously complicated, both militarily and politically. Sadr City is not patrolled by U.S. troops, and except for the occasional Special Forces raid the militia operates freely there...
...Others are more blunt. "If the U.S. withdraws, Iran takes over - it is as simple as that," says Dr. Mehdi al-Hafed, a prominent MP from former Prime Minister Iyad Allawi's secular block and one of Iraq's most respected politicians. "The Americans have to ask themselves if such an outcome is acceptable to them...