Word: sectarianism
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...hopes to transfer security responsibility; the oil pipelines that represent the economic lifeline of a new government; and local and national political and administrative leaders. They have also taken a massive and bloody toll among Shiite and Kurdish civilians, who they have sought to provoke into a sectarian retaliation that would deepen the rift between those communities and the Sunnis...
...complete the job any time soon. They're certainly enjoying a lot more successes against the insurgents than before, but the insurgency has also grown in scale and capability. But for all its proven ability to disrupt and sabotage the new order in Iraq, an insurgency based on the sectarian militancy of the Sunni minority can't easily succeed in restoring Sunni-Baathist authority over the newly empowered Shiites and Kurds, whose own militias render such an outcome unlikely even if U.S. troops were to withdraw. So, even if a civil war is already under way, it's worth remembering...
...also worried that deep de-Baathification would worsen Iraq's sectarian divisions. While the current Shi'ite and Kurdish leadership spent much of the Saddam years in exile, Sunni leaders stayed and 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...
...Raouf's men. But the biggest contributor to peace in the area appears to be the shrinking presence of U.S. troops. According to sources in the insurgency, Shi'ite and Sunni leaders in the area met earlier this year at a Haifa Street mosque and agreed to halt sectarian attacks and allow the new Iraqi forces to operate. The imam at a local mosque says the arrangement has succeeded for a simple reason: "Now there are no more Americans here...
...delay in the timetable for the drafting of a new constitution. The relentless bloodletting of the insurgency continues, and most of its victims are Shiites and Kurds. Pressure for reprisals is growing despite the insistence by the Shiite and Kurdish leadership that their people resist the provocation intended by sectarian killing - after all, Sunnis already imagine themselves marginalized by the transition in Iraq, and any sectarian reprisals will only deepen Sunni support for the insurgency. A majority of Iraqis voted for the promise of change, choosing an alliance that promised peace, security, jobs, reconstruction and a timetable for U.S. withdrawal...