From the BBC:
The Shia bloc set to lead Iraq's first full-term government has picked PM Ibrahim Jaafari as its candidate for prime minister in the new cabinet. Mr Jaafari won by one vote over Vice-President Adel Abdel Mahdi.Each was backed by two key factions in the United Iraqi Alliance, which fell just short of a majority in the poll...
But his appointment must first be confirmed by parliament, and formal negotiations with other groups about forming a coalition government have yet to begin.
It will be Iraq's first full-term government since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003.
The two previous governments - run by Iyad Allawi and Mr Jaafari - were interim administrations...
Later in the article, it's mentioned that Jaafari is the head of the "Islamic Dawa Party."
According to Wikipedia (grain of salt not included), it was founded in the '50s, " created to combat secularism, communism and Baathist Arab socialism... supported the Islamic Revolution in Iran and in turn received support from the Iranian government." (boldface added)
A brief disclaimer is added: "While Khomeini, and the SCIRI, argued the power of the state should rest with the ulema, al-Dawa supported the notion of power resting with the ummah."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamic_Dawa_Party
So there's lip-service to democracy, but up to what point does the ummah have a say, if the will of the people is for something not condoned by the clerics? And, the 64,000-dinar question: what about the non-Muslims?
Islamic Dawa Party Homepage:
http://www.islamicdawaparty.org/
Arabic-English translator (not perfect, but helpful):
http://www.systransoft.com/index.html
Okay.
March-April 2003: Regime of Saddam Hussein overturned.
May 2003: It's official -- "Mission accomplished."
2003-2004: Both sons of Saddam Hussein killed, Saddam Hussein captured. Game of 52-pick-up ends with almost every major figure in previous regime captured.
2003-2006: 4.5 million Iraqis given potable water. Thousands of schoolrooms completely rebuilt or newly built. A hundred hospitals repaired and equipped. 300,000 new cars appear on Iraqi roads. Tens of thousands of computers, high-tech gewgaws of every kind appear magically for Iraqis now earning between 4 and 20 times what the did before the Americans arrived.
2005: First election in January. Purple-thumbed majesty shows that Iraqis are fully at home with the idea of democracy.
Constitutional referendum passes with flying colors. Sure to establish harmonious relations among Arabs and Kurds, Sunni and Shi'a, not to mention Christians, and Turcomans. Took some doing, but then the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia was, as Bush, Rice, and Cheney have pointed out, also took time. Same kinds of problems, same kind of magnicent result.
Strange that in some provinces Constitution is approved with overwhelming support, and in other provinces of Iraq, constitution is opposed with similar overwhelmingness. Idea of constitution as a check on Shari'a now firmly fixed, and deeply imbedded in consciousnesses of all Iraqis.
Final vote on December 15 for new, peaceful transition to a new Iraqi government.
Februarey 12: new Iraqi government, representing the hopes and dreams of all Iraqis, with those carefully described individual rights, and carefully limited constraints on the majority and on the power of the government (just like the American Constitution) of the Constitution which should make things from here on out, go swimmingly.
Bush announces to great acclaim that America "is addicted to oil." Declares he will add $5 million to wind energy budget, among similar measures. A few days later, adminstration requests another $120 billion for Iraq the Model and Afghanistan the Other Model, or 24,000 times the additional amount being allocated to wind energy, and 2,000 times the additional amount being allocated to research on solar energy.
Democratic vote in Egypt gives Muslim Brotherhood five times its previous representaton, which would have been even larger had the Mubarak regime not prevented the Muslim Brotherhood from contesting all seats. Coptic position further endangered. In Lebanon, "Green Revolution" leads to -- exit of Syrians, and then...nothing. In West Bank and Gaza, democracy on the march leads to triumph of Hamas.
Announcement of $8.8 billion gone missing in Iraq.
Iran works furiously to complete nuclear project.
Europe, its indigenous people and civilization increasingly threatened in their laws, cusetoms, manners, and understandings by Muslims within Europe, and by Muslims all over the world ready to explode in orgies of hysteical hate against this or that European country that insists on permitting its own citizens to exercise their rights, endures terrorism, riots and demonstrations of every level of threat aimed at the local Infidels, at all Infidels (for they are all in the same boat: there are only Infidels who disobey, and those who obey, Muslims and their demands, for Islam "is to dominate and is not to be dominated").
Meanwhile, American soldiers remain in Iraq, the bill for Iraq and Afghanistan pushes $450 billion, and Iraq the Light Unto the Muslim Nations continues to be the place where American lives, money, materiel, attention, are all being focussed.
Time to come to one's senses. Time to realize there is no "victory" but decades ahead of containment, far more difficult to achieve than was the containment of Soviet power. There is nothing now that can come out of Iraq that will further the interests of Infidels except precisely the opposite of what this Administration continues to insist is its goal: an Iraq free of sectearian and ethnic strife.
That sectarian and ethnic strife is in fact the only thing that Infidels can hope for when it comes to achieving something beyond assuring ourselves that Saddam Hussein did not have the kind of weapons that, in the first place, it was perfectly reasonable to suspect that he did have.
Time to go.
Who will press this point? What Republicans, what Democrats -- and press it, for the right, and not the wrong, reasons?
Hugh, does it really matter whether they do it for the right or wrong reasons? As long as they do it!
It makes me so angry to see a measely 5 million spent on windpower, with billions being thrown away in Iraq and Afghanistan.
I'm not from the U.S. but New Zealand, and both our countries desperately need to develop more independent and greener sources of energy. In NZ, biofuels are a good option, but the gvmt is moving very slowly on that.
BTW, why is nobody calling Iran's bluff by offering to help them develop their abundant solar power?
It's not time to go yet Hugh. I've read and understand your position, but it's just not time to go.
There are things that need doing, and you grossly underestimate our military power there.
We are by no means 'stretched', worn out, tired etc etc. The whole theatre will be changing direction soon enough. Hang onto your hat, because we are going to go on a roller coaster ride we have no choice but to go on.