Word: ayatullah
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...country's squabbling factions could accept. A U.N. team arrived in Iraq last week to evaluate the coalition's plans for transition and assess the feasibility of holding broad-based elections before the June 30 deadline. The elections have been demanded by Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric, Grand Ayatullah Ali Husaini Sistani, but are resisted by U.S. officials, who say a general vote cannot be held safely. The intrigue deepened last Thursday when Sistani's bodyguards said the cleric had escaped an assassination attempt outside his home in Najaf. Sistani aides later told U.S. military officials that accounts...
...panel dominated by hard-line mullahs had effectively rigged the outcome by disqualifying some 2,000 potential candidates, most of them reformists. The move capped a month-long drama marked by the resignation of 87 reformist parliament members in protest. After attempting to mediate a compromise, Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei came down firmly on the side of the conservatives. Calling reformists "ignorant people" who parroted "the enemies of this nation," he sternly refused to reverse the disqualifications or delay the balloting "even...
...panel dominated by hard-line mullahs had effectively rigged the outcome by disqualifying some 2,000 potential candidates - most of them reformists. The move capped a month-long drama that climaxed with the resignation of 130 reformist parliament members in protest. After attempting to mediate a compromise, Supreme Leader Ayatullah Ali Khamenei came down firmly on the side of the conservatives. Calling reformists "ignorant people" who parroted "the enemies of this nation," he sternly refused to reverse the disqualifications or delay the balloting "even by one day." Iran's conservatives are now expected to sweep back into parliament, four years...
Because he has refused to meet with journalists and U.S. officials, the Bush Administration has had a hard time figuring out Sistani's game plan. But many Administration officials are hopeful his role will be positive. Washington is already grateful that the ayatullah, while refusing to endorse the occupation, urged his followers to cooperate with the Americans early on. Says a senior U.S. intelligence official: "Sistani can prove to be one of the bigger forces for stability." A State Department official, on the other hand, says: "I am skeptical that anyone really understands what Sistani's about." The world...
...Would Be Kingmaker Iraq's future government may hinge on one ayatullah. Can the U.S. win his trust...