Word: militiaization
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Thus, though corruption and the battered Israeli economy have also beset the country, Israelis are scared about the security of their country, with perceived threats coming from Iran, the Lebanese militia Hizballah to the north apart from the Islamic militants Hamas in Gaza. Netanyahu and other hawkish politicians are capitalizing on these fears, arguing, for starters, that Israel's 22-day assault on Gaza should have pressed on until Hamas was crushed. Despite the punishing Israeli offensive, the Palestinian Islamists are still firing rockets sporadically from Gaza. (See pictures of heartbreak in the Middle East...
...Today, the radical militia dispersed by the U.S. invasion in late 2001 is back with a vengeance, able to operate freely in much of the countryside and moving closer to the major cities. And as the Taliban well knows, in a rural society dominated by local warlords, the impression of military might functions as a force multiplier: back in 1996, the Taliban (with extensive backing from the Pakistani military) raced across Afghanistan to seize power in Kabul by trouncing mujahedin rivals in a few early battles and then simply allowing word of their military prowess and momentum to discourage further...
...know what to expect from this phlegmatic figure in ill-fitting suits. Maliki didn't help matters by constantly shifting his position on key issues. One moment he supported the radical Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr; the next, he was ordering Iraqi forces to smash Sadr's militia. One minute he was being described by President Bush as "my man"; the next, he was fulminating against U.S. interference in Iraqi politics. "It's like every six months there's a new Maliki," says a Western official in Baghdad. "And as a political strategy, it's genius: in a country...
...will be on the streets on Saturday as up to 15 million registered voters head to the polls, mostly on foot, to cast ballots in what will decide a new makeup for 14 of Iraq's 18 provincial councils. Iraqi and U.S. officials have repeatedly warned that insurgents and militia elements may stage attacks on election day. With the vehicle ban, suicide bombers on foot and rocket or mortar fire pose the biggest threats. But so far there has been little sign that Iraq's militants are organizing a bloody show of force. The largest Shi'ite militia, the Mahdi...
Prospects for al-Sadr's militia, the Mahdi Army, and the political figures who stood at the edge of it have steadily dimmed since last spring, when government forces of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki emerged as the de facto victors in battles with the Mahdi Army across southern Iraq and Baghdad. Weeks of fighting in the early months of 2008 ended in a stalemate. Since then, Iraqi security forces have rounded up scores of Sadrists with the help of U.S. troops, effectively hollowing out the movement's street power and political influence. Meanwhile, the vast popularity that al-Sadr...