Word: war
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...Roots of Rebellion Zazi's story begins 24 years ago, in the midst of a war in Afghanistan's Paktia province, a violent region of jagged mountains, ominous caves and boulder-strewn ravines. The war pitted U.S.-backed Islamic fundamentalists against troops of the Soviet occupation. Little is known of Zazi's childhood, but around the time he was born, there was a newcomer in Paktia: a zealous Saudi millionaire named Osama bin Laden. He had come to see jihad in action, and he was thrilled and inspired by the experience of combat. Bin Laden built mosques and schools...
...inquiry says the conflict started the moment Georgia shelled the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali on the night of Aug. 7-8, 2008. "In the mission's view, it was Georgia which triggered off the war when it attacked Tskhinvali with heavy artillery," Tagliavini said in a statement accompanying the report. The document condemns the bombing, saying it was an overly aggressive response to the provocation. "It is not possible to accept that the shelling of Tskhinvali ... would satisfy the requirements of having been necessary and proportionate in order to defend those villages," it says...
...Russian officials were quick to claim that the report cleared them of culpability. "Who started the war? On that question the report gives an unequivocal answer," says Vladimir Chizhov, Russia's ambassador to the E.U. (See pictures of Russia celebrating Victory...
...Russia received its fair share of blame. The attack by Georgia was "the culminating point of a long period of increasing tensions, provocations and incidents," the report says. In the run-up to the war, Russia issued passports to South Ossetian citizens, which the investigators say "runs against the principles of good neighborliness and constitutes an open challenge to Georgian sovereignty and an interference in the internal affairs of Georgia." More ominously, the report notes that there seemed to be an "influx of volunteers or mercenaries" from Russia to South Ossetia in early August 2008. (See pictures of the Russians...
...Georgia said the investigation proved that Russia had been preparing for war all along. "We are glad that almost all the facts we have alleged have been confirmed, in particular that armed Russian units entered Georgia before August 7," says Salome Samadashvili, Georgia's ambassador to the E.U. "The report confirmed that Russia committed an act of aggression against a sovereign state, thus breaking the U.N. charter." (Read "In South Ossetia, Families Remain Torn Apart...