Another Ayatollah: Once again a Shia Ayatolla is spoiling America's plans

摘要

In a remarkable example of historical irony, a scowling, black-turbaned. Shia Ayatollah has emerged from obscurity for the second time in a quarter of a century to vex and confound America's plans for the mid-east. Twenty-four years ago, the US encouraged Iraq's ruler, Saddam Hussein, to invade Iran and overthrow the new revolutionary Islamic government of Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. The US and Britain secretly aided Iraq with arms, finance, chemical and biological weapons, intelligence, military advisors, and diplomatic support in its bloody war against Iran, which lasted eight years and caused one million casualties. But when Saddam Hussein grew too big for his boots, his former US and British patrons brought him down. Now, over two decades later, another powerful Muslim cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali el-Sistani, is challenging America's mid-eastern Raj, and Washington has reacted to this perfectly predictable event with deep consternation and confusion.