Shi'ite bloc feels on verge of Iraq power

[leftchick]

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=664265

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - A Shi'ite Muslim bloc tacitly backed by a revered ayatollah is poised to dominate Iraq's newly-elected parliament, marking a sea change in Iraqi politics after eight decades of rule by minority Sunni Muslim Arabs.

Resentful Sunnis, who lost their privileged status after U.S. troops toppled Saddam Hussein in April 2003, showed little interest in Sunday's poll. Main Sunni parties boycotted it and Islamist militants tried to turn it into a bloodbath.

<snip>

Officials in the United Iraqi Alliance believe their bloc of mainly Shi'ite parties has won almost half of the 275 assembly seats, based on their own exit polls and 13,000 monitors.

<snip>

Any contender will need to be on good terms with Washington and to be broadly acceptable to Iraq's competing communities.

[Zynx]

1. Guess that means our Allawi rigging failed

Good.

[leftchick]

2. He ain't out of it yet....

:(

<snip>

Allawi's group did well in Baghdad, Sunni provinces and southern pockets, such as traditionally secular Nassiriya.

The likelihood that no single party will dominate the assembly will mean extensive horse-trading before a prime minister is chosen. Allawi is not out of the running.

[Zynx]

3. Yeah, but he can't be an American stooge if he wants the job

His party came in third with much less than Sistani's bloc.

[VegasWolf]

6. Not necessarily, Allawi is a shite. This election did not elect

the prime minister, the newly elected governing body will.
I think this election went just the way the BFEE wanted
it to. The whole thing is a farce anyway because the Sunni
will rebel against the american puppets and civil war will
occur.

[Stew225]

4. bumper sticker seen in Iraq:

"Shi'ite happens".

sorrry. it's Monday.

[mom cat]

9. Your comment deserves the following:

:spank::spank::spank::spank::spank::spank::spank::spank::spank::spank::spank:

[okieinpain]

5. man don't know if this is good or bad. shiite are the fundies,

sunni's are saddams folks. so will the sunni's object strongly to being governed by shiites. and if it comes out rigged and the shiite's get a few surprised wins, that offset shiites power. how will the shiites respond. and I don't see anything about the kurds.

I hope this shit works out, but it's just too damn tricky for my taste.

[Wright Patman]

7. Sunnis

have become more Islamist and radicalized since Saddam fell. I would say that the Shiites of the Sistani camp are actually less radical in terms of theocratic demands, from what I have read.

Frankly, I am sick and tired of Iraq. It is not worth even all the damned oil for it to dominate our headlines day after day. We are well into our third year of "all Iraq, all the time" news feeds. I feel as if I should have been allowed to vote in their election, as much as I've had to read and hear about it.

[daleo]

8. Since when did exit polls matter?

These guys are in for a surprise. I am positive the votes will be counted in the Green Zone and there will be a big divergence between their exit polls and the vote count. Just like with Kerry. No re-vote like in the Ukraine, though.

One caveat - They might be tight with the BFEE.