Quote Originally Posted by Armchairguy View Post
Sistani has always seemed to be the most reasonable voice in Iraq (in my opinion) and we probably could have undermined Sadir by heavily backing Sistani from the start, using his knowledge and influence to help Shia and gain their support. Given that we can't change the past Washington should definitely engage him now.
The potential problem here is that it seems to me the track record (in terms of popular support and legitimacy) is for clerics backed by the United States to suddenly and precipitously lose popularity.

If we threw our weight behind Sistani, like any other cleric, he would be caught in a difficult position between US support and the relative anti-US opinions of his constituency.

I have a hard time imagining Sistani going down a path virtually guaranteed to make him a collaborator in the eyes of his constituents.

Matt