Gene Lyons

[mooseandsquirrel]

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"This is a government that will have very good relations with Iran," Juan Cole, a University of Michigan expert on Iraq, told The Washington Post. "The Kurdish victory reinforces this conclusion. Talabani is very close to Tehran. . . . In terms of regional geopolitics, this is not the outcome that the United States was hoping for."

It also could be bad news for Iraqi women. As near as I can make out from the ayatollah’s English-language Web site (sistani.org), for example, temporary marriage is OK, except that "due to probably committing sins is not permissible" to actually talk to the girl first. The decision’s up to her father or brother. Veils are mandatory. Also, no music, no dancing, no chess playing. Sistani sounds like James Dobson on crack. Islamic canon law also offers scant consolation for boosters of American-style free enterprise.

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