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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 3-Jan-2014
3-Jan-14 World View -- Al-Qaeda militants seize cities in Iraq's Anbar province

Web Log - January, 2014

3-Jan-14 World View -- Al-Qaeda militants seize cities in Iraq's Anbar province

Car bomb explodes in Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut, Lebanon

This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

Car bomb explodes in Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut, Lebanon
Al-Qaeda militants seize cities in Iraq's Anbar province

Car bomb explodes in Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut, Lebanon

Car bombing in Beirut on Thursday (AFP)

Car bombing in Beirut on Thursday (AFP)

A car bomb exploded Thursday in the well-protected Shia / Hezbollah stronghold in downtown Beirut, Lebanon, killing 5, just one week after a car bomb exploded in the well-protected Sunni region of Beirut, killing a leading Sunni leader. ( "28-Dec-13 World View -- Lebanon faces new chaos after car bombing in heart of Beirut") This bombing comes weeks after a twin suicide bombing killed 25 people at the Iranian embassy in Beirut.

The sectarian war in Syria has been spilling over into Lebanon almost since it began in 2011, mostly in the form of sectarian gunfights in northern Lebanon in Tripoli, on the border with Syria. But the violence in Lebanon has been spreading and worsening since April 30, when Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah committed his Shia militia to fighting alongside the army of Syria's Shia/Alawite president Bashar al-Assad against the Sunni opposition. And in the last couple of months, the violence in Lebanon has crossed several red lines, particularly striking at the heart of Beirut, in the most well-defended sections of the city. Each side is determined to prove that it can strike at the other side, and that attempts at protection are futile. AFP

Al-Qaeda militants seize cities in Iraq's Anbar province

The war in Syria is also spilling over into Iraq, where sectarian violence has been growing since the withdrawal of American troops in December, 2011. During the last week, al-Qaeda linked forces have been taking control of parts of the cities of Fallujah and Ramadi in Anbar province, near the border with Syria. Al-Qaeda in Iraq was defeated in 2007 by President George Bush's "surge" strategy (See "Iraqi Sunnis are turning against al-Qaeda in Iraq" from 2007.) Shia Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has adopted hostile policies towards the Sunni population, alienating them, perhaps getting even for the decades when Sunni leader Saddam Hussein treated the Shia population extremely harshly.

The old Al-Qaeda in Iraq has become the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). During the last few months, ISIS has become a magnet for Sunni jihadists around the world. ISIS's victories in Iraq are a sign of the growing strength of ISIS in the region, as the entire Mideast becomes inflamed along sectarian Shia/Sunni lines. Al-Jazeera and AFP

(Comments: For reader comments, questions and discussion, see the 3-Jan-14 World View -- Al-Qaeda militants seize cities in Iraq's Anbar province thread of the Generational Dynamics forum. Comments may be posted anonymously.) (3-Jan-2014) Permanent Link
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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 3-Jan-2014 3-Jan-14 World View -- Al-Qaeda militants seize cities in Iraq's Anbar province

Car bomb explodes in Hezbollah stronghold in Beirut, Lebanon

Al-Qaeda militants seize cities in Iraq's Anbar province

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Generational Dynamics Web Log for 3-Jan-2014
3-Jan-14 World View -- Al-Qaeda militants seize cities in Iraq's Anbar province