Word: sectarianism
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...suggested that to stabilize Baghdad, U.S. forces would also have to root out the troublemakers lurking outside the city. "A lot of people thought what we needed to do was put everybody into Baghdad to secure the population," says Odierno. "But what we really thought was causing the sectarian violence were the car bombs, the indirect fire [from mortars and rockets] and the suicide bombers. And we really thought their supply networks were in these belts...
...draw down, the Iraqi police step up and shape up, the quick reaction force remain at the station unless otherwise needed, and the CLCs integrate into the Iraqi army and police. But for students of history and armchair generals, the parallels with Beirut, circa 1975, may be striking: More sectarian-aligned groups are organized and armed and funded now than at any point...
...lands. The vast majority are stuck in limbo in neighboring Syria and Jordan, not allowed to work, unwilling to go home and denied visas to go anywhere else. U.S. and Iraqi officials say some of those refugees have begun returning home, spurred by the reduction in terrorist attacks and sectarian violence, especially in Baghdad. But that amounts to a small trickle compared with the numbers still seeking a way out. Though 66,000 Iraqis have applied for asylum, just 14,000 of them have been granted refugee status by the U.N. and have had their files sent to the State...
...Northern Ireland's capital was a tourism desert. Today, Belfast's hostelries are packed with visitors as the city reaps the rewards of political stability. But as Northern Ireland's politics change for the better, Belfast is going through an image crisis. No longer defined by bomb blasts and sectarian strife, the city is reaching for new, peaceful symbols. And it's settled on a rather unlikely choice. Two clues: Celine Dion and an iceberg...
...sorts: the parliament's unanimous passage of a law that allows former members of Saddam Hussein's Baath party to take government jobs for which they have expertise and experience. The so-called de-Baathification of the Iraqi government after the fall of Saddam contributed significantly to the violent sectarian divisions of the country as well as to a collapse in the way the country was run. The new law is meant heal the rift between the Shi'ites who now dominate the government and the Sunnis who used to. "I come with an upbeat message," Bush said...