Iraq looks to Shiite leader for a way out of political crisis

[unhappycamper]

Iraq looks to Shiite leader for a way out of political crisis
By Ned Parker, Raheem Salman and Saad Fakhrildeen, Los Angeles Times
August 15, 2010

Reporting from Najaf, Iraq — Every day, the pilgrims gather in the alleyway leading to the home of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, hoping to be among the lucky few to get an audience with the austere Shiite spiritual leader. Political figures are whisked to the cleric's simple office, leaving a short time later with vague pronouncements about Iraq's direction.

Even U.S. officials seek his help. Foreign Policy magazine recently reported that President Obama had sent a letter asking for Sistani's assistance in ending the months-long impasse over forming Iraq's next government. Both the White House and Sistani's office declined to comment on the matter.

Since 2003, Sistani has stepped into the breach using his authority as the country's supreme Shiite religious leader to guard his community's welfare.

Sistani's legal decrees and threat of demonstrations forced the Americans to agree to his demands for a speedy timeline for elections and the drafting of a permanent constitution in the early days of Washington's occupation. He has long been a voice of moderation, acting to quell sectarian bloodshed and revenge killings since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime.

Now, Iraq is once again looking to Najaf to see if the reclusive religious man can help extricate the nation from its dangerous political crisis.