Word: shia
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...little over a month ago, an internal Bush Administration memo written by National Security Adviser Stephen J. Hadley wondered somewhat naively whether Maliki might be a "witting participant" in "an aggressive push to consolidate Shia power and influence" in Baghdad. Shi'ite power, after all, is the raison d'etre of the ruling Shi'ite alliance; Sistani ensured that all the major Shi'ite parties contested the election as a bloc in order to guarantee the Shi'ites a share of political power congruent with their demographic majority. Shi'ite-power, far from a hidden agenda, was the winning ticket...
...strong central government able to offer security to all Iraq's sectarian and ethnic groups. But, the Saudi expert says, "if things really continue to spiral out of control, as they are currently, and there is more and more concrete evidence of Iranian involvement with the Shia militias and with the continuous ethnic cleansing that is currently happening, adding to a potential announcement of a U.S. withdrawal, it will be very difficult for the kingdom not to get involved in the Iraq situation." And a split within the House of Saud, whether based on personality or policy, could make...
...urgency of turning things around in Iraq, two of the nation's most senior intelligence officers on Tuesday delivered a gloomy assessment of the war. General Michael Hayden, director of the CIA, warned at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that the sectarian violence between Iraq's Shia and Sunnis has gotten so out of hand it "now presents the greatest immediate threat to Iraq's stability and future." And the Pentagon's top spy, Defense Intelligence Agency director Lt. Gen. Michael Maples, testified with Hayden and was equally downbeat. "Although a significant breakdown of central authority has not occurred...
...Maples saw some glimmers of progress, such as the conviction of Saddam Hussein, the increased combat capability of Iraqi security forces, and "moderate growth" in the Iraqi economy. But that's about it. "Despite ongoing Iraqi government and coalition operations against terrorists, Sunni Arab insurgent groups, and Shia militias, violence in Iraq continues to increase in scope, complexity and lethality," Maples said...
...altered Lebanese politics. Siniora's allies - an anti-Syria coalition of Sunni and Druze Muslims along with some Christians - blame Hizballah for provoking the conflict by kidnapping two Israeli soldiers, and accuse it of being a pawn in Iran's regional power game. But, Hizballah, the country's largest Shia Muslim party, suspects Siniora of collaborating with the United States and Israel in pursuit of their regional ambitions...