Word: shied
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...remaining in foreign debt that the country accrued under former dictator Saddam Hussein. With Jordan appointing an ambassador to Iraq last week and Kuwait and Bahrain saying they are soon to follow, the U.A.E.'s announcement is being seen in Baghdad and Washington as evidence of warming relations between Shi'ite Iraq and its Sunni neighbors...
...year ago, Al-Faw and the nearby, larger city of Basra were major hubs for Shi'ite militia smuggling rings and a dangerous no-go zone for most Westerners and wealthy Iraqis. Kidnappings were rampant, and many local authorities were either complicit in the activities or too afraid to act. "Previously, yes, the army was present here," says Basra military commander General Mohammed Jawad Huwaidi. "But the outlaws and bandits were working under the names of parties. So we needed the political will to start the operation." One top Iraqi commander, who only agreed to speak anonymously, says the local...
...During the Iran-Iraq war of the 1980s, the stretch of coastline was the site of several devastating battles between the two sides, including one in 1988 in which the Iraqi military under Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against Iranian troops. Today Tehran's friendly relationship with Iraq's Shi'ite-dominated government is a far cry from what it was in the '80s. But few Iraqis can forget the nearly decade-long conflict, and many - despite the countries' new friendship - are wary of Iran's current intentions. "We should build something like the Great Wall of China between Iraq...
...Maliki may indeed be showing his true colors. Last month Iraq's speaker of Parliament, Mahmoud al-Mashhadanni, predicted this shift in the government's negotiating stance with the U.S. "[Maliki's] Shi'ite coalition is publicly with the [SOFA] agreement but secretly against it," says al-Mashhadanni. "They came to power because of an agreement with the multinational forces, and they [have to] thank them for that. But the [long-term] presence of the multinational force will affect their [popular, nationalist] position." (Al-Mashhadanni's own party, the Sunni Tawafuq bloc, has the reverse problem; according to al-Mashhadanni...
...Maliki may be further emboldened by his government's improved ties with neighboring Iran, America's biggest regional rival. Between that and a tighter grip on Shi'ite support, the Prime Minister and his men have no reason to admit that the timetable is mere posturing. On Tuesday, Iraq's national security advisor Mowaffaq al-Rubaie reinforced the Prime Minister's statement. "We can't have a memorandum of understanding with foreign forces unless it has dates and clear horizons determining the departure of foreign forces. We're unambiguously talking about their departure," he told reporters in Najaf after...