"Strangely complaining from the sectarianism"

... [A]l-Quds al-‘Arabi reported that Ayatollah Sistani, the highest Shi‘a cleric in Iraq, has similarly expressed his disapproval of the demarche of the government and its Shi‘a parties. According to the paper, the Shi‘a cleric said “they have filled my heart with puss,” in reference to ruling establishment in Iraq. Sistani’s words, however, were not made in a public statement, therefore, their veracity cannot be ascertained. The Pan-Arab Paper (which usually toes an Arab nationalist line, and was known for taking up pro-Saddam postures in the past) quoted sources “close to Ayatollah Sistani” who were present during his outburst. Particularly, the paper added, the Ayatollah attacked “those who wore my robe, and controlled the government and the parliament,” which is a clear reference to al-Hakeem’s SIIC (which declared Sistani its highest reference earlier this year) and his allies in the Da‘wa party. Strangely, al-Quds al-‘Arabi quoted Sistani as complaining from the “sectarianism” of Iraq’s leaders. The Ayatollah was a main sponsor of the Shi‘a Coalition, which united Shi‘a parties during the last elections, and he has made repeated calls for Iraq’s Shi‘a to “unite” and maintain a united front in the parliament and the government.

It's nice to see the summatorialist at Slogger City doing some source criticism for a change. There is much to criticize in the agitprop of the Anglo-Arabian Press Trust, on which the sloggers rely from heavily to exclusively all the time.

There is no "strangely" about it, if one assumes that some kind ideobuddy fabricated just the sort of tale about His Eminence that a "reporter" for QA would be bound to find irresistable. This shaggy dog puts the militant Sunnintern in the same happy position that Wingnut City and Rio Limbaugh stood in vis-à-vis neocomrades Pollack and O'Hanlon: "Look, even the worst of THEM admits that we are quite right about (whatever) ."

The TwentyPercenters don't really need the support of fictionists, not to judge from one factious verbalizer:

Meanwhile, a spokesman of the Sunni “Islamic Party” (which was promoted as a potential ally of the pro-government coalition) confirmed that his party will not participate in the cabinet under the current leadership. In an interview with Pan-Arab al-Sharq al-Awsat, ‘Umar ‘Abd al-Sattar said that the government was “a failure” and that Maliki “deserves a Nobel prize in maneuvering and evasiveness.”

Do pander-Arabic journalists from London and Beirut actually know anything much about Peaceful Freedumbia, apart from what disgruntled TwentyPercenters from this or that smithereen tell them? The summatorializer concludes with an instance that may possibly admit of Popperian falsification:

Lastly, al-Hayat and al-Quds al-‘Arabi relayed conflicting reports as to whether a new coalition is being negotiated in Iraq to oppose the pro-government alliance. Both papers said that such a coalition is already in the works, al-Hayat quoted a spokesman of ‘Allawi’s “Iraqi List” who said that the pro-government coalition [sc. Dr. ‘Alláwí's own crew] has intensified talks between the parties that were left out to launch an opposing coalition. Al-Quds al-‘Arabi, however, quoted a Sadrist official who denied such claims. In the same issue, nevertheless, the London-based pan-Arab paper alleged that the Sadrists will lead a parliamentary coalition intended to counter the pro-government alliance.

The Rev. Señorito al-Sadr has even less talent for politics than the rest of the collaborationist hacks, so perhaps the former (?) CIA asset could jolly the firebrand cleric along into "a parliamentary coalition intended to counter the pro-government alliance," although that would certainly take some doin' on Dr. ‘Alláwí's part. A couple of days ago, Sadr Tertius actually vouchsafed an interview to an invasion-language publication. The Independent reports straight from the horse's anatomy, then, as follows :

The Sadr movement pulled its 32 elected MPs out of Iraq's parliament earlier this year, ending its nominal support for Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki. Other factions have since followed suit, bringing the government to the brink of collapse. Despite recent efforts by the Prime Minister to shore up his power base, his days as Iraq's elected leader were numbered, Mr Sadr said. "Al-Maliki's government will not survive because he has proven that he will not work with important elements of the Iraqi people," the cleric said. "The Prime Minister is a tool for the Americans and people see that clearly. It will probably be the Americans who decide to change him when they realise he has failed. We don't have a democracy here, we have a foreign occupation."

Now if Himself believes that the extremist Republicans are goin'ta put down poor M. al-Málikí, then the Sadr Tendency is presumably not planning to do the job for them. Unless, to be sure, that "rogue elements" problem amongst the juvenile delinquents has got totally out of control and nobody at all answers to His Nibs any more. So most likely that "Sadrist official" is better informed than the pander people. But God knows best.