Word: stronghold
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...third element was the Northern Alliance, a resistance movement whose stronghold was in northeast Afghanistan. Most of the Alliance's forces and leaders were, like Massoud, ethnic Tajiks--a minority in Afghanistan. Massoud controlled less than 10% of the country and had been beaten back by the Taliban in 2000. Nonetheless, by dint of his personality and reputation, Massoud was "the only military threat to the Taliban," says Francesc Vendrell, who was then the special representative in Afghanistan of the U.N. Secretary-General...
...plan raises divisions aplenty on the Palestinian side, too. Those under curfew in the West Bank cities will see little to cheer in a "Gaza-first" cease-fire, and even Arafat's own cabinet was divided over whether to accept Ben Eliezer's offer. Gaza is a stronghold of Hamas, whose political standing continues to grow at the expense of Arafat's own Fatah movement. The PA's approach to implementing a cease-fire there may depend, in large part, on securing Hamas's agreement to such a step, on the basis that both sides would prefer to avoid...
...implication was that the dying was over. Irish election results in May mean that, for the first time, a majority of those believed to be leaders of the I.R.A. are also in elected office. And Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey has become mayor of Belfast, a former unionist stronghold. "Many in the I.R.A. know it's only a matter of time until they're stood down," says a former member, now in politics. The transformation is still tricky, so Adams and his allies take it slow. O'Neill's statement didn't apologize for the hundreds of police and soldiers...
...felt-tip pen, and the "Signora Boss" who has stepped from the proverbial kitchen to the front lines of Italy's organized crime network. This face of the Mob may appear less violent but it's no less sinister, says Giuseppe Cipriani, who became mayor of the fabled Mafia stronghold, Corleone, in the wake of the assassination of the two magistrates. "The Mafia changed strategy, that's all," says Cipriani, whose second and final mayoral term recently expired. "They just sat down and decided it at the table. It doesn't mean they might not start bringing back the bombs...
...foreigners visit. On this peak in 802, King Jayavarman II declared himself a Hindu god-king and kicked off the four-century Angkor period of Khmer history that produced the Angkor temples, constructed of Phnom Kulen's sandstone. The Khmer Rouge used the mountain as a final stronghold for two decades after losing power in 1979, so it's only been three years since visitors have again been able to enjoy the cool waters and artistic treasures...