Word: primed
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Once at sea, the activists - who include an 81-year old nun, a Greek leftist parliamentarian and the sister-in law of ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair - braved a squall and a bizarre communications blackout, which they say was caused by lsraeli electronic jamming, and which thwarted a rendezvous in heaving seas between peace activists and a ship of journalists...
...Iraq war seems to be ending in what the Bush Administration will argue is victory. Granted, it's not the kind of fledging democracy that will spread like wildfire to neighboring nations in the Middle East. And Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's recent move against elements of the Sunni Awakening Councils, which have been instrumental in helping American forces secure order, could reignite violence. But it is amazing how much things have changed...
...Until this year, the Bush Administration had appeared to take for granted al-Maliki's acquiescence when push came to shove. The Iraqi Prime Minister had, for example, publicly opposed the surge of some 30,000 additional U.S. troops deployed in Iraq last year, but when they came anyway, al-Maliki's government muffled its dissent. That left many in the region and beyond questioning the extent of sovereign control exercised by the Iraqi government...
...Things have changed in recent months, however, with al-Maliki steadily strengthening his own political footing. Through a series of battles earlier this year, the improved Iraqi security forces nearly managed to marginalize the Mahdi Army militia of powerful Shi'ite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, the Prime Minister's chief rival. Moreover, the Iraqi army has shown new muscle in Sunni areas of Iraq like Diyala province, even as the Prime Minister shored up Sunni support for his government in Baghdad - a delicate political process involving force and cajoling but little compromise on his part...
...weapons." As if on cue, on Wednesday, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad arrived in Moscow hoping to persuade Russia to sell him sophisticated air-defense systems - and reportedly offering the Russian navy the use of one of its Mediterranean ports. Late on Wednesday, the Israeli Foreign Ministry announced that Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Russian President Dmitri Medvedev had spoken on the phone to clear the air over the Georgia conflict and Russian arms sales to Syria...