Within only a few days of the creation of a new Iraqi Shi‘ite front, the leader of the most powerful movement in that front, ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Hakim of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI) has died in Tehran of lung cancer.
As the heir of the powerful Hakim clerical clan and a major figure in Iraqi politics, Hakim's passing will clearly have an impact. If it means that the new National Iraqi Alliance is thrown into temporary disarray, that may strengthen the hand of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki and his Da‘wa Party.
Juan Cole's take here; Reidar Visser's here. The BBC's here. And Al-Jazeera English.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
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