Iraq and Afghanistan

The Shi'a coalition is back together apparently. Their new list, which includes Kurds and a few Sunnis, is referred to as "The Alliance". It has now ranked its list. Number 1 is al-Hakim, the leader of SCIRI, the mainline organization with Iranian connections — although it denies any such connection. Number 7 is Shahristani, a spokesman for Ayatollah Sistani. Chalabi is Number 10, a remarkable transformation for an exile (since 1958) who was the darling of the Pentagon before the war, then condemned, and later accused by the Interim government of crimes. Some Al-Sadr candidates are also in the top 25 positions. One can assume that Dawa leaders make up many of the others in this elite group. It is assumed that much of the government that will be established after the election will be made up of persons in the top 25.

Dr. Sharistani, the spokesman for the new Alliance at yesterday's press conference, showed the group's moderation by discussing for the first time in these circles the difficulty of holding an election in Sunni areas with violence at a high level. Suggestions are being made that perhaps there could be a rolling election in which the election in certain areas would be delayed while security forces are brought in temporarily. Another sign of moderation was the presence of Sunni Arabs and Kurds on the platform as the Alliance was announced. One of the seven persons on the platform was Fawaz al Jarba, who is a former Iraqi army major, a Sunni Arab, and leader of the Shamar tribe, one of the largest in Iraq.