Word: najaf
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...shrine were the Mahdi's father and grandfather. Most Shi'ites believe that the Mahdi will one day reappear as a messiah to bring justice to the world. That makes al-Askari one of Shi'ite Islam's holiest sites, exceeded in veneration only by the shrines of Najaf and Karbala. Even Samarra's Sunnis hold al-Askari in high esteem. The expression "to swear by the shrine" is routinely used by both communities. Insurgent groups that have occasionally operated out of Samarra since the fall of Saddam's regime made sure to give al-Askari a wide berth...
...wild card in this latest flare-up is al-Sadr, who fought two insurrections with the Americans in 2004. He lost both military battles, but emerged each time politically stronger than before. The areas around Kut, Karbalah and Najaf to the south of Baghdad have seen hit-and-run attacks on American forces, the most recent on Monday resulting in the destruction of a Humvee and the death of an American soldier. Mahdi Army forces loyal to Sadr are widely blamed for these attacks...
...thoughtful list of suggestions for a more successful prosecution of the war that he had opposed, including the deployment of more troops (which he would transfer from other regions). Reed pointed out that the President, despite his talk of limited success in the reconstruction of the cities of Najaf and Mosul, "didn't tell the American people how we're going to replicate that success in other parts of Iraq ... how many more teams of Americans, both military and civilian, need to go into these communities (and) what it will cost us." Most important was Reed's tone-quiet, humble...
...ites doing this? Because they're betting that if the insurgency metastasizes into a full-scale civil war, they will receive U.S. backing against the Sunnis. This point was driven home by al-Hakim's son, Ammar, in Washington last month when he called for a "strategic alliance between Najaf and Washington." Najaf is the holiest city for the world's Shi'ites, and Shi'ites make up 60 percent of Iraq. Sunnis, however, make up about 85 percent of the world's Muslims. Taking the Shi'ite's sides in Iraq might buy them influence in that country...
...capital could be cut off from significant oil revenues and patronage if federal regions, such as the one proposed in the south by al-Hakim, have more control over the nation's petrodollars. Last week's clashes between al-Sadr's Mahdi Army forces and Badr militiamen in Najaf and other southern cities was a result of long-simmering tensions between the two groups, who hope to control Iraq for their own ends...