SocraticGadfly: Sistani may give Moqtada al-Sadr green light

May 23, 2008

Sistani may give Moqtada al-Sadr green light

The incomparable Juan Cole points out that Iraq’s Shi’ite Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani is under pressure to issue a fatwa against the presence of American troops in Iraq.

Ironically, Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s claim that Iraq troops would be ready to “stand up” by the end of this year gives Sistani this leeway. The U.S. presidential election is a background factor, of course.

McCain will be hard put to rationally defend any sort of longer-term occupancy if Sistani pulls the trigger.

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