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Default OT--Great news for Iraq...terrible news for Iran

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmp..._re_mi_ea/iraq

Shiite Leader Accepts Iraq Interim Gov't


By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press Writer

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's most influential Shiite figure gave tacit endorsement
to the U.N.-appointed government Thursday, breaking nearly three months of
silence over the country's political future. But the supreme religious
leader in neighboring Iran dubbed the body a "lackey" of America.



The opposing statements coincided with an eighth straight day of fighting in
the holy Shiite city of Kufa between U.S. soldiers and militiamen loyal to
radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. At least six Iraqis were killed and 11
injured, hospital and militia officials said. Three U.S. soldiers were
wounded.


Late Thursday, Shiite negotiators who have been trying to mediate an end to
the fighting demanded that American troops remain in their positions and
stop all raids and arrests in Kufa and Najaf, another holy city.


In return, al-Sadr's militia would continue withdrawing fighters from the
two cities, a delegation statement said. The mediators, including politician
Ahmad Chalabi, proposed that Shiite monitors ensure compliance with the
truce and urged the Najaf provincial governor to put Iraqi police on the
streets to maintain order.


There was no comment from U.S. officials. Al-Sadr's spokesman Qais
al-Khazali said the withdrawal of militiamen from the streets would be
complete within "a day or two."


In a religious edict, or fatwa, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani expressed
hope for the interim government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, himself a
Shiite. But al-Sistani said the leadership must secure full sovereignty for
Iraq, restore security, prepare for elections by Jan. 31 and ease the
hardships facing Iraqis.


"It cannot win popular support unless it proves that it is sincerely trying
to achieve those goals," al-Sistani said of the new Iraqi leadership.


Al-Sistani criticized the makeup of the Cabinet, saying it excluded large
segments of society and political forces. However, his support was critical
to public acceptance of the U.N.-appointed government because of
al-Sistani's influence over Iraqi Shiites, believed to comprise about 60
percent of the country's 25 million people.


Al-Sistani's objections to U.S. policies in Iraq have derailed at least two
U.S. political blueprints for the country's political future and bolstered
the Iranian-born cleric's image as the defender of the Shiite community.


In Iran, which has an overwhelming Shiite majority, supreme leader Ayatollah
Ali Khamenei described Allawi's government as America's "lackey" and said
the United States has failed in bringing reforms to Iraq after the ouster of
Saddam Hussein.


"Humiliating Iraqi youth, torturing Iraqi men, raping Iraqi women, breaking
down the doors of Iraqi homes, and installing a lackey government is the
result of ... removing spirituality from politics," Khamenei said in Tehran
before tens of thousands who chanted "Death to America."


Nearly half of Allawi's 32 Cabinet ministers, announced Tuesday by U.N.
envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, are Shiite Muslims. The new leadership takes power
from the U.S.-led coalition on June 30 and will remain in office until
general elections by Jan. 31.


Khamenei's remarks were expected to have minimal impact among Iraqis, and
initial reaction to his criticism was restrained.


"We respect all points of view," Iraqi Vice President Ibrahim al-Jaafari,
also a Shiite, told the Arab satellite station Al-Arabiya.


Industry Minister Hajim al-Hassani, a Sunni, told Al-Jazeera television that
the government was not concerned about approval "from outside Iraq."


Al-Sistani's edict was issued as the U.N. Security Council deliberates a
U.S.-British blueprint for Iraq after the end of the occupation this month.
Several key council members, including France and Russia, have called for
stronger language affirming Iraq will gain genuine sovereignty despite the
continued presence of 138,000 American soldiers.


Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari met with council members Thursday to
press for greater powers for the interim government.


Al-Sistani's demands are likely to find resonance with a broad sector of
Iraqis, who are frustrated with the occupation's failure to improve services
significantly and restore security. Abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S.
soldiers has deepened Iraqis' suspicions of America's intentions and robbed
the occupation of the moral authority the United States and its allies won
when they overthrew Saddam.

Al-Sistani's edict was his first political statement since March, when he
warned Brahimi against U.N. endorsement of an interim constitution adopted
over his objections.

Thursday's pronouncement also returned al-Sistani to the center of Iraqi
politics after nearly three months in the shadow of the young militant
Shiite cleric al-Sadr, who broadened his base of support by launching a
revolt two months ago against the U.S.-led occupation.

The latest clash took place when U.S. forces swept into a neighborhood near
the Kufa mosque just after dawn, looking for fighters who had fired mortar
shells at a U.S. base from near a girls' school. After driving off al-Sadr's
militia, troops found a cache of weapons, including mortars,
rocket-propelled grenades and Kalashnikov rifles.

Al-Sadr's revolt stoked anti-U.S. sentiment in Iraq, prompting speculation
that al-Sistani had lost stature by tolerating the occupation in exchange
for political favors for the Shiites.

"I suspect al-Sistani has managed to retain his political popularity despite
the Sadrist uprising, and in many quarters, of course, it is now seen as
even more important to have an alternative to the hotheaded Muqtada," said
Juan Cole, an expert on Iraqi Shiites at the University of Michigan.

Cole, however, warned that al-Sistani could turn against Allawi's government
if it does not act quickly to restore security or if signs emerge that the
January elections would be delayed.

"The new government will have his blessings as long as it works for security
and moves promptly to free elections," he said.



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Iran's meddling is beginning to lose it's effect on Iraq.





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