Word: shying
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...chaos began to pervade the nation, finding consolation in the fact that he was making a good living. He served as a bodyguard for our correspondents and photographers, keeping us safe from kidnappers, insurgents and other Iraqis who resented our presence. Frequently threatened with death - by Sunni terrorists and Shi'ite extremists alike - he never quailed. We promoted him to security chief, and he made a tidy income, nearly three times the salary of a university professor...
...good fortune attracted the attention of bad people. Iraqis working with foreigners are regarded with suspicion by radical Shi'ite groups like the Mahdi Army of anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. Extremist groups view people like Yasser as traitors and collaborators who deserve to be tortured and executed. Early last year, one such group grabbed Yasser and interrogated him for several hours; that they released him unharmed was a small miracle - and a testament to his ability to talk his way out of trouble. But a few months later, the same faction kidnapped and tortured one of his friends...
...life bereft of expectation and ambition. So much of the discussion about the war's toll on Iraqi society centers on the numbers of dead and wounded - victims of Sunni suicide bombers, Shi'ite militias, American arms. Yasser's story is a reminder of the millions whose lives have been destroyed without a single drop of blood shed. Who keeps count of wounded hopes and dead dreams...
...Preaching Tolerance Re your report about the age-old divide between Sunnis and Shi'ites [March 12]: It never ceases to amaze me that people kill one another over trivial religious differences. Religious wars will be with us for a very long time. Isn't the Shi'ite-Sunni battle the same religious trivia as the Northern Ireland Protestant-Catholic mess that has been going on for so many years? How could these issues be so important that one can kill one's neighbor over them? Jeff White, KILCHBERG, SWITZERLAND...
...sectarian war between Sunnis and Shi'ites would be comparable to a civil war in the U.S. between Southern Baptists and Roman Catholics. If Iraqis cannot tolerate slight differences in practice of the same religion, how can they embrace democracy? One of the foundations of our democracy is the acceptance of different ideologies, including religion. It's time for Sunnis and Shi'ites to get over their mutual 1,300-year-old grudge. If Americans can accept a multitude of religious creeds among their compatriots, then surely the Iraqis can accept differences in the same religion. Ronn Ohl, Raleigh, North...