Huh? Wha?

Asia Times Online :: Middle East News, Iraq, Iran current affairs — If you’re not already sick of the Iraqi elections. Here’s a non-American inspired analysis that should further confuse you.

Shi’ites swamped the polls in part because Sistani told them it was a “religious duty” to vote. It’s unclear how far the next Sistani-blessed government will go to dispel the widely-held Sunni perception of the elections as “a movie” directed by the Americans and packaged to the rest of the world. The Shi’ite leadership at the UIA cannot afford an enduring, widely held Sunni perception of a Washington-Shi’ite alliance. Things may get much worse. Abdul Aziz al-Hakim, the No 1 in the UIA list – who has ruled out becoming the new prime minister – was the leader of the Badr Brigades for almost 20 years. The Badr Brigades – trained by the Iranian Revolutionary Guards – were the armed wing of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq (SCIRI). Now they’re rebranded as the Badr Organization, a political party also represented in the UIA. One can imagine the volcanic possibility of the Badr Brigades being employed by the Shi’ites to fight the Sunni resistance.