Blanford: A Shiite Challenge
See the fine analysis by Nicholas Blanford in the Christian Science Monitor of the showdown between Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani on the one had, and Bremer and the Interim Governing Council on the other. Blanford quotes Ibrahim al-Jaafari (al-Da`wa Party) and Mouwafak al-Rubaie (ex-al-Da’wa Party) as supporting Sistani’s call for popular elections this spring instead of caucus type elections. But it seems that some Shiites voted against Sistani, to give Bremer a majority on the IGC in support of caucus-appointed candidates.