Sistani quietly opposing U.S. presence

WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- Despite careful rhetoric from the revered Iraqi Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah al-Sistani, his opposition to U.S. interests in Iraq is apparent, an analyst says.

Sistani is a profoundly influential figure in Iraqi society and the Islamic community in general. In contrast to the radical cleric Moqtada Sadr, however, Sistani has been cautious about expressing bellicose rhetoric regarding Iraqi political affairs, writes Anthony Cordesman with the Washington think tank Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Reports vary as to the degree to which Sistani enters Iraqi political debates, though his officials in Najaf have noted recently he "rejects the American presence" in Iraq.

To that effect, Sistani met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and Abdul Aziz al-Hakim of the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council in May to lay out a series of conditions surrounding negotiations regarding the status of forces agreement between the United States and Iraq.

"Sistani emphasized that everything should be done to get back total sovereignty on all levels," said Sistani's representative, Sheik Abdul Mehdi al-Karbalai.

There is no indication, Cordesman notes, that Sistani embraces violent opposition to the U.S. military presence in Iraq, though in a recent fatwa, or religious edict, he expressed his viewpoint strongly.

"Changing the tyrannical (Saddam Hussein) regime by invasion and occupation was not what we wished for, because of the many tragedies they have created," the cleric wrote.