Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2025 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Uncategorized

Sistani Opposes Appointed Transitional

Juan Cole 02/18/2004

Tweet
Share
Reddit
Email

Sistani opposes Appointed Transitional Government

The Jordan Times reported on the various plans being put forward for the July1 US hand-off to a sovereign Iraqi government. Since direct elections probably cannot be held before that date, the inclination seems to be to hand sovereignty to a perhaps expanded, but still appointed, Interim Governing Council.

This latter plan may run up against severe opposition from the Shiites. The Jordan Times notes,

“Adnan Al Asadi, a senior member of the Islamic Da’wa Party, and other politicians who have met Sistani, say he wants any transitional assembly to be chosen by Iraqis. Asadi said Sistani wanted the Iraqi people to participate in setting up any new body so no one would question its legitimacy as had happened with the US-appointed Governing Council.

The NYT reported on Tuesday that the Shiites and the Kurds on the IGC are pressing to hold direct elections in their regions, and to let the Sunni Arabs hold caucuses to elect their leaders, if security concerns did not allow the Sunnis to hold open elections.

I don’t think just handing power over to an expanded IGC will be acceptable to Sistani, and his wide authority and popularity in the Shiite regions make it difficult to simply ignore him.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page

Primary Sidebar

Support Independent Journalism

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Personal checks should be made out to Juan Cole and sent to me at:

Juan Cole
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
USA
(Remember, make the checks out to “Juan Cole” or they can’t be cashed)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter to have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.
Warning! Social media will not reliably deliver Informed Comment to you. They are shadowbanning news sites, especially if "controversial."
To see new IC posts, please sign up for our email Newsletter.

Social Media

Bluesky | Instagram

Popular

  • When Politics Leaves Reality Behind
  • Trump, the Suez Canal, and the end of Eisenhower's World Order
  • Are Cyberattacks and Iran's Port Explosion the First Salvo in Disrupting U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks?
  • My Palestine: An Impossible Exile
  • Rümeysa Öztürk freed, as Judge Warns of Grave Threat to Free Speech

Gaza Yet Stands


Juan Cole's New Ebook at Amazon. Click Here to Buy
__________________________

Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



Click here to Buy Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


Click here to Buy The Rubaiyat.
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2025 All Rights Reserved