Word: sectarianism
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...that won't be confined to that country: From Lebanon to the Persian Gulf, through peaceful elections and bloody conflicts, the Shi'ites are making their presence felt. The headlines of 2006 have been dominated by the likes of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and his Mahdi Army as sectarian warfare surged in Iraq; by Hizballah, emboldened by its summer war with Israel to challenge Lebanon's fragile political order; and by Iran's defiance of international demands over its nuclear program...
...Lebanon war showed that Iraq has rewritten the rules in the Middle East, adding sectarian loyalties to the equation. But Lebanon - particularly the U.S. refusal to push for an early cease-fire as Shi'ite communities were pummeled - also cost the U.S. much of the goodwill it had gained among Shi'ites following the Iraq...
...wooing reluctant Sunni politicians to join the political process, which they took as a sign of weakening U.S. resolve. Their anxiety turned into anger in February 2006 when a massive bomb destroyed the Golden Mosque in Samarrah, one of the holiest Shi'a shrines. Despite calls for restraint, sectarian militias seeking vengeance stepped into the breach, promising protection to a community rapidly losing its trust in the political process and the U.S. And the character of the war began to change as the U.S. military found itself on the same side as Shi'ite militias in the fight against...
...sectarian conflict in Iraq has implications for the whole Middle East. Long before Americans recognized sectarianism as a problem it was already shaping attitudes beyond Iraq's borders. Not long after Saddam fell from power, King Abdullah of Jordan warned of an emerging Shi'ite crescent stretching from Beirut to Tehran - emerging Shi'ite power and Sunni reaction to it was on everyone's mind in the region...
...guard as it watched Hizballah steal some of its thunder. The reaction of Sunni rulers and radicals was swift: They denounced Hizballah's campaign as an Iranian-sponsored Shi'a power grab. And even though the war popularized Hizballah on the Sunni Arab street, it did not close the sectarian divide - particularly as sectarian tensions soared in Lebanon after Israel's bombing ceased...