[Dean's World] Dave Price: SCIRI Less Scary

[notify at powerblogs.com]

Posted by Dave Price:
SCIRI Less Scary
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1179166314.shtml


   In a story sure to be [DEL: headlined :DEL] buried by the MSM, Bill
   Roggio [1]reports a major Shia party in Iraq is [2]moderating and
   moving away from Iranian influence:

     On the political front, the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI), the
     largest Shia political party, has changed its name and shifted its
     center of political and religious support from the Qom school of
     thought, led by the Iranian Ayatollah in Iran, to the Najaf school
     of thought, led by Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani. This would "mark
     a shift from SCIRI's current platform, which says the group gets
     its guidance from the religious establishment of Welayat al Faqih,
     led by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Iran," Reuters
     reported on Friday.
     SCIRI has renamed itself the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council,
     dropping the "Revolution" from the name. While the source stated
     the name change was due to Saddam's overthrow, the change is far
     more significant. The term revolution is closely associated with
     Ayatollah Khomeini's rise to power in 1979 and the radical change
     Khomeini introduced in Shia politics.

   In other auspicious news, Bill notes the Sunnis have [3]backed off
   their threatened withdrawal from Iraq's parliament as Maliki promised
   them a greater role.

References

   1. http://billroggio.com/dailyiraqreport/2007/05/iraq_report_the_search_kurds_a.php
   2. http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/YAT153309.htm
   3. http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/17221386.htm